Looking for Possibilities

Living a creative life is the art of looking for POSSIBILITIES--not simply what is, but what can be. From that we must determine what creativity means to us, it will be different to each of us, it may change over time. Each of us has the ability to be creative—even the most left-brained of us, it simply materializes differently.
But sometimes, like most of us, I feel my creative energy lagging. I lose my confidence in believing that I have any creative sense and my life and surroundings are dull and colorless. It was here that I initiated keeping a journal, and it is something I suggest each of you do.

Creative Journal Arts

Balance

When life gets particularly busy and I can't get to my studio to paint I quickly become irritable. All of life revolves around striking a balance between work and play, emotional and physical, needs of ones own and the needs of others. Weighing what is necessary against what is wanted. Each day we are bombarded with choices that tip the scale in one direction or the other. Continually we seek the chord that feels intuitively correct. We know that when the weight has shifted too far in either direction something must change- something will give way. So I need to be involved in some form of the creative process to feel at ease. What I mean by this is that I feel physically and emotionally at ease while I'm involved in some means of creating. This can be as simple as reading a book on painting techniques, or flipping through a photo album of possible subjects to paint.

Creative Journal Arts

Journals That Travel

Travel offers a fleeting moment to reach beyond our usual comfortable surroundings to see something new, to do something different, to expand our landscape. We'll take photographs and videos in effort to bring the experience back with us and relive it once we are home. But the photos are looked at once then put away because they fail to capture the true essence of the trip and the videos are taken out to show others who rarely appreciate a vision and experience that they didn't share. Eventually memories fade. And the things that stay with me afterwards are not what I expect. It is this that has led me on an exhaustive search to learn how to keep a journal that captures the essence of an adventure.

In Ruins

Creative Journal Arts

Collected Fragments

This journal has turned into a vessel that contains many fragments. In the beginning, it started out as a simple attempt to fill the vast blank white pages and now it has evolved into an invaluable tool within the creative process. I believe it's not only a creative approach it's also a therapeutic one. Many forms of therapy take on the guise of journal keeping. I kept a diary as a young girl and then later as an adult, but I've learned that by fortifying it with imagery I can breathe life into it and now the writing and visuals are inseparable, each holds equal importance. It has helped me to organize my thoughts, to see my way into a project, and then out again; it jump-starts an idea from a thought in my head to a realized work of art and in the journal lies its inspiration, motivation, and history step by step.

Creative Journal Arts

Therapy Within the Pages

It has long been discovered that keeping a journal can be therapeutic. It relieves stress and it clears the mind to move onto other issues. I'm a firm believer that if you write it down, it will happen, it sets things in motion. In addition the more I write the less I have to remember, freeing up vital brain-storming for other ideas that I will in turn write down in my journal. My art journal logs progress and this helps me through creative lulls. Even in my bleakest, non-creative, uninspired moments, I can still tend to and cultivate something that will inevitably fuel my creative spirit.
Creative Journal Arts

Taking the Next Step

I was never very good at keeping a traditional sketchbook. When I was in college, I always felt awkward and on the unlined drawing paper my handwriting became illegible. Classmates would diligently add beautiful sketches, while I was scared to death of the blank page. I wanted every page to be perfect, every drawing to be a masterpiece and since this wasn't possible I failed to record anything. No one pointed out other options or impress upon me that a journal is just as important as a means to stimulate and inspire. I wanted to keep a record of my progress as well as a place to collect my reference and scraps I found inspiration. It was not until ten years later that I began modifying the sketchbook concept to suit my needs. So I began to keep visual journals. The first one was born from collecting images based on the theme of a painting I was working on. I'd make notations and even small sketches to focus on an idea. From there it simply grew. Just about anything that I felt any kind of attachment to could be included. I devoured old sketches and drawings, cutting and cropping to fit the pages. I had years of work packed away that I never looked at. I found related themes or medium. I'd write dates and titles where possible. I began to add my own photographs that inspired new ideas. The pages included works I admired from others as well as notes taken from galleries and museums I visited. I made color charts and took notes on my findings.

Creative Journal Arts

In the Beginning…

On Keeping a Journal

I'm a journalist. Not the kind you find writing hot topic news articles, no I keep a journal, well several journals, okay three journals, four if you include my datebook. Five, if you add in my current travel log. I keep different journals for each aspect of my life; art, writing, travel, and general personal meanderings. I think I'm on the right track when I focus on journaling, its use during travel its importance for self-exploration, working out issues once they're down on paper. What about the use of the journal in therapy? There are several directions I could go... the journal during travel, the journal for art's sake, the journal for art therapy's sake. And then there is the process for making the journal. For instance, in my art journal I record the progress of a current piece of work, discoveries I make with my materials, what I've found inspiration. This journal is the most visual because it includes sketches and small renderings in paint or pencil.