Today I’d like to share a simple found poem I created in my Moleskine journal, using random words I cut out of Eat Pray Love:
Finding Peace in the Rain
Happiness,
like butterflies
visible on the horizon.
A window of hope left open:
ancient pleasure.
I could start finding my peace,
but
I’m not sure where to start
with my search.
Energetic,
I run out in the rain
and it’s delicious.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
I read something interesting the other day on this awesome post on Brain Pickings (that website is amazing, FYI):
Without Time nothing is possible. Everything requires Time. Time is the only permanent and absolute ruler in the universe. But she is a scrupulously fair ruler. She treats every living person exactly alike every day. No matter how much of the world’s goods you have managed to accumulate, you cannot successfully plead for a single moment more than the pauper receives without ever asking for it. Time is the one great leveler. Everyone has the same amount to spend every day.
The next time you feel that you ‘haven’t the time’ to do what you really want to do, it may be worth-while for you to remember that you have as much time as anyone else — twenty-four hours a day. How you spend that twenty-four hours is really up to you.
That really got me thinking. It’s so funny how often we feel like we don’t have enough time to do things. But really, we all have the same amount of time to spend each day. It’s just about how we fill that time.
Most of us probably spend around 8-9 hours a day at work. Outside of that time, we can choose how we spend our time. (Some would also argue we can choose inside that time too, and I strongly agree, but that’s another post for another day).
Today, even though I was super busy with work, I made time for some important things:
Actually, the one thing I haven’t done today was journal. I guess that’s first to make time for tomorrow!
What have you made time for today?
I came across a really interesting idea in Austin Kleon’s Steal Like an Artist: copy the work of others.
This might sound a little unethical but I assure you it’s not, if you do it right. Here’s a summary of his main points:
We’re talking about practice here, not plagiarism – plagiarism is trying to pass someone else’s work off as your own. Copying is about reverse-engineering. It’s like a mechanic taking apart a car to see how it works… Who to copy is easy. You copy your heroes – the people you love, the people you’re inspired by, the people you want to be… What to copy is a little bit trickier. Don’t just steal the style, steal the thinking behind the style… At some point, you’ll have to move from imitating your heroes to emulating them. Imitation is about copying. Emulation is when imitation goes one step further, breaking through into your own thing.
He goes on to explain that it’s about copying them and then adding your own spin on it to make it something else, to add something to the world that only you can. He also points out that copying one person is not good, but taking inspiration from many is.
I also think it’s worth noting, as Kleon points out, ‘Even The Beatles started as a cover band.’
Why do I mention all this?
As someone who is reasonably new to art journaling I needed to find a ‘way in’. I was inspired by so many different artists and wanted to make art like them.
I still do, because I haven’t yet found my own unique 
style. But – I’m bringing together the elements from each that I love. By taking inspiration from the various artists that inspire me, and adding my own interests and ideas, I am slowly forming an idea of who I want to be in my art journals.
And you know what? Without approaching it this way, I would never have started. I would have stared at the blank page and not had a clue what to do. I would have been lost. I know that the artists I copy want to inspire others, so I turned to them.
Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find yourself. – Yohji Yamamoto
I took lettering ideas from one artist, background and painting ideas from another. I took collage and stamping ideas from yet another. Without them even realising, they have taught me how to art journal. They have taught me various ways to express myself.
I never stop looking for inspiration. I browse Instagram (way too often!) for pictures of other people’s art journals for ideas. The thing I absolutely love about blogging and social media is the way that people openly share their work and encourage others. Somehow my foray into journaling, a generally isolated activity, has led to me discovering and being welcomed into a vast online community of creatives.
Find a few people whose art journals you admire. You can save images on your computer, or print them out and stick them near your desk/creative space.
Try to identify what it is you love about their style. Perhaps it’s the whimsical lettering, or the layers. Maybe you love their use of colour, or patterns, or old photographs. Maybe their art journals capture a feeling – happiness, playfulness, courage, calm. Try to pinpoint what it is you love.
Now, take a fresh page in your art journal and, focusing on one at a time, try to create your own version of their image, using their style. Copy it straight out, if you like, or add your own little touch to it. Try this with all the artists/images you’ve selected.
Now take a few of the elements you most enjoy from your images and try to weave them into your art journaling pages in the future. Remember, it’s ok to copy their style and emulate their work, but it is not ok to just recreate it. And when you share on Instagram/Facebook etc, I always find it good to tag them and give them credit as your inspiration. And they often love to see how they have inspired others too!
Here is a list of some of my favourite journalers if you need help getting started:
Those who do not want to imitate anything, produce nothing – Salvador Dali
I don’t know about you, but I’m a real sleep person.
I need more than the average person. Some people can manage on 6 or 7 hours a night – I can get 9 and still be tired.
I think it’s because I’m a highly sensitive person – I tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted more easily.
And being a busy teacher doesn’t help.
Sometimes we just need to sleep and rest. Today is one of those days for me.
If you are feeling tired, take time to rest without feeling guilty. Your to do list can wait. The laundry can wait. The vacuuming can wait. Take a luxurious nap in the afternoon. Sleep in late and have tea in bed when you wake up. Read and go back to sleep.
Rest and let sleep heal you.
A while ago I took the Layers of Life Visual Journal workshop and one of the first things we were told to do in our journal was to give ourselves permission.
I love this and I think it’s something we don’t do enough of.
It might seem a bit unnecessary, maybe. You think, well of course I have permission to write in my journal, duh.
But have you given yourself permission to do all the things you want to do? To make a mess, to make mistakes, to cross things out and start again, to look foolish, to try new things, to dream of a better life – even start to take steps towards it?
I’ve mentioned ad nauseam about my perfectionism, so for me giving myself permission to make a mess is a big deal. So many times I’ve started a journal and it’s not until halfway through that I’ve realised that I’m too afraid to make a mistake or do anything that risks not being pretty!
Not to mention I seem to unconsciously give myself rules each time I start a new journal – what I
can and cannot journal about in that journal, what type of journaling it will be, etc.
How freeing (and admittedly a little scary) it is to declare in the front of my journal that it can be for any damn thing I want it to be: writing, painting, stamping, collage, washi tape, watercolours, scribbles, stencils, sketches, doodles, prompts, stream-of-consciousness, lists, mindmaps, nonsense, ideas, dreams etc. WHATEVER!
So I urge you the next time you start a new journal – or heck, even in the middle of your journal right now – to dedicate a page to giving yourself permission.You could list the things you want to do, collage images, draw – whatever feels good and best represents the creative freedom you need.
For those of you that haven’t guessed it already, journaling is my ‘thing’. It’s the perfect combination of my training in writing, life coaching, psychology and teaching.
But sometimes I get a bit uptight about my journals.
I have so many now that I’ve lost count (yes, I really need to update the ‘how I journal’ page). I have three art journals, one for Journal 52, one for the 30 Day Journal Project (which I’m way behind in, but I’ve saved the prompts for later) and another one which is an altered book. I have a written Moleskine journal, a creative dream journal, a blog journal and a business journal. I’m pretty sure that’s all my journals…
Which is a glorious thing, really. I love having all these different avenues of creativity, these different ways of exploring and expressing myself.
Except…
Sometimes it feels a bit much. I want to journal but I’m not always sure which journal to pick up and use. I get confused about which online course I’m doing (I’m onto my fourth journal course in as many months and I’m not keeping up with them!). I have so many journal books and prompts that I’ve not finished reading a single one. I have at least 5 blank journals on my desk waiting to be used but devoid of purpose. I dip in and out of each current journal as I feel like it, but I feel like my focus is a bit split.
I’m currently taking the Layers of Life Visual Journal workshop. I’m totally crushing on the work of Nichole Rae, Lisa Sonora and Hope Wallace and trying to infuse their styles into my journaling. I want to focus my energies on finding my own journaling style using collage, paint, stamps, stickers, washi tape and my own lettering. I want to combine my visual journaling with my written journaling so that I can have one main journal to work in, and then one other journal for painting and heavier media.
In the planner/Filofax community they have these monthly challenges where they stick to one book for a whole month. People, like me, who love notebooks and planners and journals and just get too carried away.
This will mean overcoming my self-imposed ‘rules’ of which journal can be used for what.
And I guess, since the next two weeks at work I’m 
going to be so busy I won’t have much time for anything, that makes sense. Any time I get for journaling will have to be focused. I won’t have time to be going back through my online courses, so I won’t need to be switching between journals.
So here’s what I’m thinking: an experiment, for the next two weeks to only use my main Moleskine journal and my altered book. I think I need both because the Moleskine can’t really take paint, and I need a place to paint, so the altered book is good for that. And the Moleskine (which is a sketchbook, for the slightly thicker paper) can be used for my daily writing, collage, doodles and anything else that takes my fancy.
Does anyone else have the problem of too many journals? What journals do you have and how do you use them?
Tonight my best friend/business partner and I spent a good few hours art journaling together. This is something I usually do alone, but it was fun to have the company and talk as we journaled.
In the past we have spent many a Saturday night going out drinking (and many a Sunday morning regretting it). More recently we have been catching up over a cup of coffee or a movie when we aren’t planning our business.
But there was something really nice about sharing an activity that is usually solitary. We had a few glasses of wine, put on some music, and played with our art supplies.
It was a great way to relax and renew our creative energies while also catching up and spending time together. Plus, the inspiration was contagious.
If you have a creative friend who you can do this with, I highly recommend it. Journaling is naturally a very private and solitary act, and it can be fun to approach it in a different way. I would suggest that you only do this with a friend who you totally trust and feel comfortable around, and who you know won’t judge or criticise your work.
Here are some of the images I created in my altered book journal. Loving just playing in here!
I’m feeling quite drained at the moment. Work is very busy and when I do have free time I’m trying to fit in my journaling – both written and art journaling.
I’ve been listening to an audio book in my car on the way to work which is fascinating: Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey. The book gives quite specific details of the daily working/creative rituals of artists, writers, musicians, philosophers and other creatives from all different time periods.
One thing that has stood out to me is how often each of these daily rituals include some form of investment in creative energy.
What I mean is this: when we spend a lot of time working, or creating, or socialising, we are effectively spending our creative energy. These are activities whereby we produce and our energy flows outwards.
Our society puts a lot of emphasis on being productive and expending energy, but we need to make sure that we are taking the time to renew that creative energy too.
I think it’s really important to balance this with doing restful and rejuvenating things whereby we ‘refill’ our creative energy tanks. These are things where we receive something, rather than produce something. I guess it’s like receiving inspiration, in a way. It’s like a sort of investment in our creative bank account, so that we then have enough to ‘spend’ later.
For me, things where I consider myself to be spending my creative energies are:
So I need to remember to balance this with activities that refill my creative tanks and renew my creative energy:
I’m not suggesting that one list is better or more important than the other. To me, it’s about balance. We need to spend our creative energies, but of course we also need to invest in them.
Take a fresh page in your journal. Create two headings:
List all the things you can think of under each heading. Your lists may look similar to mine or they may be very different. It all comes down to what works for you.
If you’re not sure which heading to put something under, consider this: does the activity leave you feeling more tired/drained or rejuvenated/refreshed afterwards?
Now, think about whether or not your life has a good balance between the two lists. If not, consider how you can bring in more of the other to create more balance for your creative energy.
Each week I share the blogs and posts that have been the most inspiring to me. Feel free to share any that have inspired you in the comments below.
I am honoured to have been part of a journaling discussion on Facebook over the past two days – hosted by Dawn Herring in the Journal Chat Facebook group. You can read the transcript of yesterday’s chat here and Dawn will be adding today and tomorrow’s chat too. Join us in the Facebook group (it’s open to the public) tomorrow at 2pm CST for the final day of our journal chat on the topic of Making the Commitment: Saying Yes to Positive Change.
I stumbled across this awesome post about how to use mindmaps in your journal. Beautiful images too!
I also discovered these free art courses online! Am so going to do these!
Beth has been on the journaling panel on Facebook with me over the past couple of days. She has a great post about the health benefits of journaling that includes journaling techniques and a reading list! A must-read.
Sue is also part of the journaling panel and has written this fantastic post about using journaling to make positive changes in our lives.
Enjoy the remainder of the week!
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