Journaling from the Soul

"To be nobody but yourself

in a world which is doing its best,

night and day to make you everybody else -

means to fight the hardest battle

which any human being could fight;

and keep fighting."

~ E. E. Cummings

I'm venturing into the world of art journaling.

My friends Cindy and Jane are no strangers to the concept and participated in Sarah Whitmire's 22 Days of Soul Journaling back in 2008. I've been browsing her site for a few days now, and after gathering the necessary supplies from Michael's (with a 40% off coupon of course), I'm ready to begin.


My first art journal.  

I, too, am starting with the 22 days of art journaling prompts. When it comes to writing, I have little trouble getting off the blank page... but art? No idea. I couldn't even color between the lines in elementary school -- but hey, maybe that makes me perfectly suited for mixed media art! So, I'm really excited that this lovely woman has provided perfect starter ideas for beginning art journalists.


Who says purple "disappearing" gluesticks are just for kids?

Meditation music floating through the room and a "beach breeze" candle illuminating my desk, I completed the day 1 prompt tonight. The instructions involved gluing random dictionary pages to the first three pages of my journal, and then writing over them with the prompt "today I feel", circling words for added emphasis. I decided to rip up an extra copy of a short story I had published in 2005 and use that instead of dictionary pages. I also added a little color around the edges of the glued pages; I'm not a big fan of white.


Completed pages of "Today I Feel"

What's great about these exercises is that they're totally at my own pace. And given my four to five days a week of volleyball, bi-weekly meditation classes, weekly Zumba class, the occasional at-home yoga session, a newly acquired freelance gig (emphasis on the "free"), and my full time job ... art journaling without a deadline is a welcomed experience.

After last week's Sacred Sounds meditation class, I've been overwhelmed with creative energy; I can't wait to see where this new journey takes me!

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