At the end of March, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Artfest 2012, hosted by Tracy & Teesha Moore. It is a 3-day extravaganza filled with so much creativity and inspiration, amazing classes, fantastic instructors, and gorgeous art, it is nearly impossible to describe. One of the things that seems to bond many Artfesters together is an activity taking place outside of the classrooms… art journaling. Each night and during break times, you could find groups of people hunched over open pages, working on journals. Tracy & Teesha have been journaling for years and they share their mind-blowing pages that inspire others to want to dip their toes into the creative journaling pool.
There are a ton of other art journalers out there, and I think that it can be a great place to draw inspiration. Even if you don’t feel like journaling on a regular basis, it can be a great springboard to give you new ideas for scrapbook pages, cards, mini books, etc. There really are no limits to what you can do. Next time you have something you want to say, but may not have the right picture to compliment it, create an art-journal page. Next time you feel like your emotions need to be sorted, create an art-journal page. Feel like you’re in a scrapping slump, create an art-journal page. Have a friend who is artsy and has a birthday coming up? Create a hybrid art-journal inspired gift. Give it a try and see how it feels. You may not be a huge fan and want to spend every waking moment art journaling, but you never know unless you give it a shot.
Here is some eye candy for you. First, some journal pages, and then some projects that seem to bridge art journaling with scrapbooking…
journal page by The Kathryn Wheel
Brave by Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
Double-page by Mumkaa
A Journal Page by Samantha Kira Harding
Debra Cooper
Album by Czekoczyna on Flickr
And last, but certainly not least, some gorgeousness from the OSD girls. :)
Ana's Crushes
Celeste's Journal Page
Andrea's Oh Life Catcher
And this is a scrapbook page I created in quasi-art-journal fashion when I was trying to figure out some things.
The real secret to art journaling is that there is no secret. Whatever you feel can go onto the page. There are no rules. Just play and have fun. It may just give you a whole new outlook on your creative horizons.
Let us know if you have tried it and/or if you have a favorite art journaler that you may follow. Leave us some wisdom in the comments below!
Now get out and play!
Great inspiration pages you’ve shown here… glad I popped over to check it out from Facebook. I am having fun playing with art journaling in the physical form but have just recently started and am not sure about going digi with it yet. Thanks for sharing! I love, love, love some of those books… think I’m gonna go play now.
Great articles of inspiration….been addicted to Art Journaling myself…..seems I have always loved doodling when younger and always created some of it in my make shift scrap-booking and never thought it looked good, and see now it is all the rage. I enjoy getting out my paints, crayons, stamps, colored pencils and ModPodge and making my pages mine…..giving them a more personal touch. It is not for everyone, but it certainly does allow me freedom to create with out any apprehension or rules. It is also incredibly relaxing…to do art, without having anything in mind, is almost like therapy. Thanks so much for sharing these awesome pages with us all. .