Art Journaling Can Improve Your Creativity!

Daily Journaling also Tracks Your Growth as an Artist

Keeping a journal has long been a practice for writers of all kinds. Journalists must keep detailed accounts as they are working on a larger story, and it has also been considered useful for creative writers as an outlet for letting loose a train of thoughts, ideas, and emotions. The journaling process has even had therapeutic effects on non-writers; for them, it is also an outlet-a truly objective party in which one can confide.

Since writing is a form of expression as well as a means of communication, then by this definition-art is too! Could journaling not also be beneficial to a visual artist? Art journaling may actually be the highest form of journaling, as an art journal can combine components of written words, collage, drawings and sketches, and any other kind of art one can conceive on a page. There are thousands of ways to keep an art journal, and the best part is that you can keep it as secret as you’d like it to be. 

Getting Started

If you’d like to start your own art journal, you can now pre-order the Artist Survival Book found only at Jerry’s Artarama (will be in stock 1/28/14) . This journal made for artists contains three different styles of paper, from gridded to lined to plain, all made from heavy artist grade, acid free paper. It also contains pockets for extra sheets or any other paper you need to inspire you. And its spiral bound so that you can lay it flat which is perfect for doodling, sketching, writing or even painting for sturdy, consistent work.

The Artist Survival Book has:

• A rugged leather cover
• Spiral binding for sturdy, dependable work
• 130 pages of plain paper
• 70 pages of lined sheets
• 70 pages of gridded dot sheets
• card stock divider pockets
• pen/pencil loop on inside cover

When you start journaling for the first time, it might be a bit hard to pick up right away. Like any new introduction to your normal routine, it can be difficult to get into the habit of journaling. The best way to approach this is to commit to journaling once a day for a number of days. Make it a point to journal alongside another activity that you do roughly the same time everyday, say taking a vitamin or brushing your teeth. After a while, it will seem natural to work in your journal, and you can express your creativity daily. It will become the best kind of habit-a healthy habit. 

How you organize your journal or what purpose it serves is unique to each individual. However, there are some supplies which are helpful to have on hand when journaling: A good pen or pencil is a must- like Jerry’s Jumbo Jet Black Pencils or for drawing and drafting, Isomar Technoart Pens. A good eraser is also a must, like the Vanish 4-in-1 Eraser. Colored and printed cardstock, old magazines, favorite pictures and little bits of ribbon and lace are great to have around for collage work. Small mementos are worth hanging onto for journaling purposes because they can induce the types of feelings you want to express when either creating art or writing in your journal. Sometimes, peaceful and relaxing music can be quite inspirational too.

What It All Means

For some artists, a journal can function almost more like a scrapbook. They can look back and see each passage or image like its own memory. They can also just fell the pages with original drawings or daily anecdotes, however they need to express themselves at that time. A journal in any form always chronicles its owner’s life. Whether through words or visual art, there exists a progression and an account of time passing. 

Perhaps one of the most rewarding aspects of a journal is the way it serves as tangible evidence of the past, a marker for memorable experiences. Art journaling allows you to keep track of your progress as an artist as well, and whether you share it with another soul or not, that is an invaluable thing. 

Do you keep your own journal of some sort or try any daily practices? Let us know if you think journaling can help in the comments below.