The Blackbird Knows My Fears, Journal Page October 6 2009
For some time now, I’ve been offering collage/mixed media journaling classes to no avail. For a while, it got me depressed, and then I asked myself: why aren’t people interested in visual journaling? A colleague suggested perhaps journaling seemed self-indulgent. After reviewing books and magazines on mixed media journaling, I could understand why. Feeling you have to spend much money on journaling supplies combined with devoting enormous amounts of time to crafting a “beautiful” journal along with time spent reflecting upon your life does seem rather indulgent.
But visual journaling doesn’t need to take tons of money or time. With a few basic supplies (see list below), the only other thing you need to get going is a series of journal topics or prompts. You can make these up yourself; look some up in creative writing or journaling books or find them on the internet (see list below). To get the ball rolling, I joined a daily online journaling class with Kelly Kilmer. There I discovered plenty of ideas for topics, techniques and the impetus to journal regularly. It wasn’t long before I began coming up with my own ideas for pages. Here I also learned I don’t need to create “beautiful” pages. The beauty of journaling is being to true to who you are and using creative techniques to compose your own unique visions rather than competing with others for the best looking pages. Not having to worry about making beautiful pages means you don’t need to take hours creating the perfect page. By choosing a few key images/colours/patterns and words, a page can be created in 20-30 minutes.
Why journal? Some of my fellow-journalers have dedicated their visual journals to their children, grandchildren, family members or friends. Getting on in age and, illnesses, sometimes are key factors in these decisions. I’m doing it for my younger siblings and family members because I think it’s a neat thing to know about your family’s roots. Besides leaving a legacy for loved ones, journals can be tools for self-discovery. Keeping a record of life events can make you feel your life and experiences count for something – are sacred, special even. Every day we are forced to hear about the achievements of newsmakers and stars but what about us ordinary folks? Who marks our passage of time, our achievements, trials and tribulations? Who better to record these but us?! In doing so, we can gain insight into ourselves and our life history. In this way journaling can be healing and empowering. If you’re a pessimistic person, it’s a great way to focus on the positive elements of life – reflecting upon the goodness in my life, brings hope.
Completing the cycle of visual journaling is sharing – something else I discovered through journaling classes. When I’ve gotten together to share my pages with others, I find the pages come more fully to life. Knowing others have experienced similar and sometimes extremely different life circumstances can create strong ties of friendship and community – it’s truly the most beautiful aspect of journaling for me. Stay tuned for more on this subject next week when I’ll share a wonderful example of this with you.
Basic Journaling Supplies List:
– Glue stick (UHU), transparent tape
– Scissors
– Stainless steel ruler (for tearing straight or rough lines)
– Small sketchbook with sturdy paper or used hard cover book with thick pages (90+lbs)
– 2 fine marker pens (.05 Micron) for drawing or writing (black and red)
– Images can be found in: used magazines, old photos, newspapers, old labels from food container/boxes, aluminium foil, gift or store packing tissue/wrapping paper, used ticket stubs and stamps, flyers, simple drawings or doodles, etc.
– A few coloured markers (Sharpies) for highlight things or colouring (Optional)
– Prompts from Books:
A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves
The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict by Eric M. Scott and Dr. R. Modler
– Free On-line Prompts:
119 Journal Prompts for Your Journal Jar by Marelisa
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