Art Journaling

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”

― Pablo Picasso

I love art therapy.

I find it very relaxing and therapeutic for myself.

My art journal is like my best friend. It’s heard so much of my pain and joy for so long now. I have been working on it for two years. Ever since mid pandemic, it’s been a work in progress for me to sit down and doodle or paste things into my journal.

As I’m writing this, I have a stack of things that are meant to go into this journal that I haven’t done anything with yet. I just bought feathers (like two months ago) to glue into the pages of this book. Procastination is a strong suit of mine.

There is something healing in discovering who you are through so many different types of art forms.

Art therapy is a tool therapists use to help patients interpret, express, and resolve their emotions and thoughts. Patients work with an art therapist to explore their emotions, understand conflicts or feelings that are causing them distress, and use art to help them find resolutions to those issues.

Art therapy as a discipline began in the 1940s and became more widespread in the 1970s. Like other expressive arts therapy, such as dance therapy or music therapy, it draws on creativity.

Quote taken directly from psychology.com

How To Start an Art Journal

My advice to you when starting an art journal?

• Start with a clean journal or an old book. I love buying dollar store sketchbooks and using those but a lined notebook would work too. You don't have to spend a lot of money on it.
• Gather scrap paper. I like using scrapbook paper, or using scraps from other books and notebooks.
• Other scrap materials such as movie tickets, special mementos, etc.
• Get glue, tape or whatever medium you would like.
• Scissors are a must. I like using those craft scissors that make crinkles for the pages.
• Stickers (optional) I like using these to make my pages stand out better. You don't have to invest in lots, just a trip to your local dollar store is enough.
• Paint (optional) I personally don't use paint in my own journal but I know of other people who do. You can create your own lovely backgrounds just with your medium of choice.
• Add quotes/sketches/doodles
• The biggest thing? Make sure your pages are dry. You don't want your book sticking together. Been there done that.
• And the main thing? Have fun with it! You don't have to be an artist to create an art journal.

I’ve found stickers on Amazon for a reasonable price but you don’t have to invest in a lot of money to get creative! All you need is a blank journal and some tape or glue to really get started on it!

Art journaling is a way to express yourself, and allows you to be creative at the same time! I found this tool so helpful and I’ve brought it to my counselling sessions before.

Here are a few pictures of from some of my art journal pages. Don’t mind the mess, it explains how my ADHD brain ticks.

Moral of the story here: your art journal doesn’t have to be perfect as you’re the only person that is going to be reading it. It’s just meant to be used as a tool in your journey towards healing.

What do you think of art journaling?

Have you tried it before?

Did you find this post helpful at all?

Let me know in the comments down below!

Chloe Rose Violet 🌹