Are you someone who works in one art journal at a time and that one journal encapsulates ALL of your artwork? It becomes a time capsule of a very specific period of time; a beginning to end mish-mash of techniques, ideas, styles, compositions. Or, do you have multiple journals that serve multiple purposes and you work in all of them concurrently?
I used to have just one journal and I would dedicate my entire art journaling practice to that one journal. But then that approach became impractical for me. I didn’t want my “teaching” journals (that I used as samples in my classes) to be the same as my personal journals, so I started working in multiple journals at one time. I sometimes have upwards of 5 journals going at once.
I have my everything-but-the-kitchen-sink-journal, which is the one I use most often. I have my “mood” journal which is a collage-based journal that specifically connects imagery to moods and feelings. I have my Banned Words altered book journal where I am recording all the words the federal government has banned from its web sites (and from receiving federal funding)—it’s kind of a current events meets history meets fat middle finger to fascism journal. I have journals dedicated to specific color palettes. I have hand-made travel journals. My TRUTH journal. Multiple zine journals. And, I have technique-based journals for things like zentangle, sketching, etc.
It’s not feasible for everyone to have multiple journals going at once, but I’ve found that it’s a system I’ve very much grown to enjoy using. Granted, it takes a lot longer to fill a journal, but I love the specificity and the consistency that emerges from this method.
I’d love to hear your preferred method for art journaling in the comments—please share.
Keep creating.
Keep couraging!
XOXO
Jenn
P.S. I currently share more photos of my artwork on Instagram.
