Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Non-Linear Journaling

Isn't it funny .... folks are always saying "there are no rules in journaling." It strikes me that this is entirely too easy to say and much harder to act on. Afterall, there are rules we have in our minds that we aren't even aware of. Somewhere in my mind I had a rule that read:
Journal should progress from the first page of the book to the last, in order. {Hogwash}

It's always been my suggestion to students not to start on the first page of a brand new book. Rather, open a page randomly. That way fear of making a mess of your new journal is not at the very front of your book. You will lose this fear with practice.

Teesha Moore likes to paint several pages of her journal and I like this idea. I'm enjoying moving around, a splash of paint here, some ink there, a bit of watercolor on this page. It's nice: I have my pen in hand and, flipping through my book, something will bounce out at me and suggest a pattern to draw or a word to write.

On this page, I started by stamping with a black ink pad and then painting around it with watercolors. I stenciled with some watercolors. Then came a bit of gesso.
All the meanwhile, I was flipping back and forth between the first page in this post and this one:
over a series of days. It feels very good. Try it!

13 comments:

Sarah Anderson said...

It felt weird for me at first not working through my journal in a linear fashion, but now it's second nature. I dry my brush (ok, baby wipe, I rarely use a brush these days lol) on a page, use up the ink on a stamp, and now often move between journals too!

Sarah Anderson said...

ps love your inkpad page, it's gorgeous!!! And very inventive :)

Kathryn Zbrzezny said...

I have been trying this out, too. I've been skipping pages, working on some bits and pieces at a time, coming back, etc. and I LOVE the freedom! I've been really enjoying painting with my fingers after putting color palette blobs around the page. Fun.

Erika C. said...

Thanks for the thought. Maybe this will help me to get back to my art journal. These are beautiful.

warmly,
Erika

Marilyn & Jeff said...

I don't keep a journal but would love to give it a try as your work is beautiful and so inspiring.I don't even know what sort of journal to buy - as in what type of paper a journal that has watercolour and ink work in it.

Brian K said...

Oh I do this too! I started a page added some paint and I am off. Then later I may not care for the color and a bit of paint later over top and I am lovin' the result! Go for it! Take good care!

iHanna said...

When I started journaling I did one page at a time too, but now I'm kind of flipping through a couple of pages, gluing a few things down that looks good together on one spread and then painting a bit on another...

Love your journal pages, yummy colours!

Jane LaFazio said...

Hububery indeed! I like moving around in a journal too. Especially when it's a MESSY journal.

Nicole Austin said...

i love your journal pages! this is how i journal, too! jumping around from page to page, journal to journal.

Lucrecer said...

I am forever inspired by how you manage to make every page in your journals special. You are such a profound woman.

Herm said...

Wish you teach at Art & Soul in Portland, OR!!!!!!!!!!

Deb's Artful Journey said...

I tried stamping and painting and I liked it! :D Thanks for the inspiration!

Linda A. Miller said...

Love the idea of not starting on the first page! I tend to have several journals going at once...now I can join them.