The Joys of Art Journaling

I need to be frank when I say that my journey into art journaling came out of feelings of frustration. I’m a perfectionist and a planner so when I got back into art I thrived in having complete control over the entire process. I thoroughly enjoyed taking lessons where the curriculum was perfectly laid out. The supplies required to take the course were listed and I refused to believe the concept about “using what I have”; I bought all the supplies! I liked that I could watch the videos in advance and see the final result. This meant that no mistakes would be made. I was a perfect student.

This went on for about 6 years until I became frustrated with the lengthy process. At this point I was painting portraits which required a good chunk of time sometimes taking a week or two to complete a perfect face. I’m not an impatient person but I began resenting all the time it required in addition to a full time job and household responsibilities. I could not quit my job to do art! This is where the frustration started to build. I became moody and snappy and would sometimes cry. My hubby did not understand!

Then something changed. I got so frustrated that I grabbed a piece of paper, glued some collage down and threw some paint on it. I scratched and scraped with tools and fingers…to my delight! I felt like a kid playing in a sandbox. And not only that, my piece of art was done! It wasn’t perfect and yet I felt so free and happy that I wanted more.

So I ditched painting faces and started taking art journaling lessons. Now mind you I was still a perfectionist at this point. It took 2 years to finally give myself permission to say “what happens if” and not care about what happens! I can just turn the page. The limitations I had about being perfect were tossed out the window! Mistakes have now become “happy accidents”. Instead of saying I don’t like it (which is totally vague), I say “the colors are not my favorite”, or “there is not enough contrast”.

Do I still want to control it? Of course but I have found ways to please both my wild and perfectionist tendencies. I control it by selecting a color theme and choosing papers and paint to coincide. If I don’t have a specific product I will improvise and “use what I have”. I try to work loosely and intuitively until I get to the end when I bring in finer “perfect” details. The easiest way I know when I’m done with an art journal page is when I start “fussing”.

What attracts me the most about art journaling is not knowing how it will look in the end. This is where freedom comes from and how I became fearless making art. It has also transformed my life. Letting go of control in my art has helped my anxiety, my relationships and how I deal with the unknown. It helps me to live in the moment. What happens if I don’t vacuum? Who cares!