I have been writing more in my journal as well as in my art journal lately. Play is such an important part of self-care. When I came across the JP Spears video below I was reminded of just how important it is to cultivate one’s own creative voice.

When we step away from our art works and view them as art expressions rather than art products, we begin to open up the space for our true inner voice to grow and be heard.

 

So often we conform to the ideals of others. We don’t want to stand out or we want to be like others to fit in. Even as adults we unwittingly do this when we follow someone else’ how to guide rather than experiment and express what is truly in our hearts. Paint nights, art classes that show you exactly how to get the same results as the artist teaching the class (so that each painting looks like an iteration of that teacher’s voice rather than your own). These are the things we often buy into because we have been taught from a young age to fit in.

When we step away from our art works and view them as art expressions rather than art products, we begin to open up the space for our true inner voice to grow and be heard. There is nothing inherently wrong with making art for art’s sake: a pretty picture, a replication of something you see that you like. To me it is only problematic if this process of following someones else’s style ends up stifling your creative voice . Have to and shoulds will interfere with your true voice. Click To Tweet

This is why art journaling is one of the workshops I offer most often.  With art journaling you can be yourself, page after page, layer after layer, our inner landscape pours onto the paper, ours to view alone or share with trusted others. Eventually as we become more accepting of those parts of ourselves we begin to feel comfortable enough to reveal those parts of ourselves more openly.

Art journaling  allows for personal expression and opportunity for immediate as well as retrospective reflection over time. The layers that I build up in my journal become a process of emotional endurance and resilience reflected back to me as assurance that this too shall pass. The layers of paint, paper pastels and writing move me through a process towards an acceptance of what is as I note my response to messes, mistakes and the unknown.