Journal Spilling

So, I've been playing and sketching in my journal every day. Perhaps I've missed a couple of Sundays, but most days I write in my handwritten journal and sketch something or someone, usually several someones. But I finally had a chance to read the book that arrived just before Christmas, Journal Spilling by Diana Trout.

Well, I've got to say, you can't possibly read this book and feel uninspired. I just itched to pull out a page a play with paint. So, I did one of the exercises in the book. I grabbed some collage images and words, tore them out, glued them down without thinking about where they went. I spread paint about the place and, yeah, just played. It was fun and I even did this with the family around. They chatted with me while I played and I still felt relaxed at the end of it.

I let the page dry and did some more to finish off the following morning. I can highly recommend you do the same. The image above is the end result.





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Generosity

A sketch from my own journal

If there is a word for the art journal community this year, it has to be generosity. I'm sitting here overwhelmed with the free stuff you can learn and be part of just by having a computer connection. Take a look at the Strathmore Visual Journal online course. With Pam Carriker kicking things off in the first month, Linda Blinn in the second month and Roz Stendahl covering March, there's plenty to keep you busy.

If you fancy something every day, there's Millande with her fun Art Journal January 2011. Prompts and videos every day, and the fun community to join in with even if you don't create anything each day.

Or check out the Sketchbook Challenge, with a monthly theme and randomly selected prize winners for each theme if you share you pages on the flickr group.

I don't know about you, but I think that's incredible. I won't even bother to mention the loads of other people who share their talents, time and tutorials with anyone with a youtube or ustream account. Seriously, you couldn't be stuck for inspiration or ideas this year. So, go to it. Create, journal and share about it if you do.


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Learning to Walk Again

Recently my daughter severely sprained her ankle. The sprain has been bad enough for the doctor to recommend keeping off her feet for a good couple of weeks. Still, when she attended her first physio session today the therapist would've liked her to start sooner. The sooner the better he claimed. He took my daughter through a series of different kinds of massages, all quite painful, but she gritted her teeth knowing the benefits. He instructed her to do several repetitive exercises, fairly easy for someone with no injury, yet quite difficult for my daughter. And then he taught her how to walk again, this time using the crutches in a new way.

It was a strange experience, she said, learning to walk again. Have you ever had to learn to do something again, something you had previously mastered? Write about relearning in your journal. How did you feel having to go back to the start? Did you resist the learning? Were you eager to get back to where you'd been before? What skills do you feel would be good to relearn now you have mastered them? Do you think we ever really stop learning?

I hope you enjoy this journal writing prompt. Please leave any comments in the section below

Heather
Image used with permission from stock.xchng

A New Creative Journal

Well, there's a lot of work before me. My old blog has been cancelled, my contract terminated, but writing about keeping a journal is a passion for me. I intend to revive most of the old stuff from A Creative Journal, change whatever needs changing and publishing it all on this blog. Of course, this is going to take some time. I hope you will all hold on with me while I do the work. As soon as I have a good ten entries up I will start sharing and getting word out about the change. So, watch this space, please, all my loyal readers.