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03.1.2012 Back from the Dead
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Wow. I can’t BELIEVE what turning to the journal will do. OK, I CAN, but I hadn’t journaled in so long and was feeling pretty empty. Yesterday, I went to lunch with my mom, and everything seemed fine. But then I came home and started spiraling into a REALLY crappy mood. I went to Target, thinking I could lose myself in there for a while and just browse. NO. It didn’t work. So I came home and started journaling since I couldn’t seem to do anything else. And it was GOOD. DO NOT, IN ANY WAY, underestimate the power of your art journal!
I’m still debating whether to add color with gel pens to this spread. Of course, in the midst of moving, I can’t find certain pens, so I’m at a standstill there...
Opening the comments up for discussion on the good your journal can do. PLEASE comment! Oh, and Trece and Melissa, thank you for your kind emails yesterday. I appreciate you taking the time to tell me those things! :)
Reader Comments (19)
I think you are right, sometime those moods just take hold and you have to just sit there and enjoy the ride! It's not good but they have to come out! Smile today is a new day. And don't think about what yesterday could have been!
And I am glad you enjoyed my email.
Melissa N
Dawn,
So sorry to hear about your troubles. I read your blog every day and derive joy from your postings. I clearly need to journal more as I can see how it has helped you! Any hints for how to be more consistent?
KimG: To be honest, I can't tell you how to be more consistent because I'm not! But I guess just be mindful of journaling as much as possible, especially when you're feeling down. Even when you think you don't have the time, just tell yourself you'll journal for 10 minutes. It can be just a doodle, or just a short sentence or word. :)
Dawn, Interesting that you turned to journaling on a unique date, the 29th. I like doing pages that are pep talks, sanity checks, reminding myself of what I need to remember. On your page, the eyes appear to be looking introspectively in the rear view mirror of your car. Good stuff.
Tammy: I agree about the pep talks, sanity checks kind of pages. It really helps! I didn't even think about the eyes looking like they're in the rear view mirror...GREAT observation! Thank you!!!!
Journaling is a true elixir---has anyone figured out what its pharmaceutical composition is yet? ;-) I'm glad you followed your artistic instincts and processed whatever you were wrestling with via your journal. The spread is gorgeous, and I don't think any additional color is necessary at all. (I too hem and haw about whether or not to add more color to my pieces (or any); I love painting so much, but sometimes a piece just doesn't call for any extra color, so I have to force myself to hold off.)
In addition, I wanted to thank you for conducting February's "NANO," especially while you're in the midst of a move! (I had no idea!) The whole idea of NANOJOUMOU is wonderful. I found your prompts both challenging and inspiring and now have 28 (soon to be 29) new pieces to add to my portfolio!
-A. J. Tallman
I really like the saying... Live with ART, it's good for you. I think your post is a perfect example of the truth in that!!! There will always be moody days, nasty people & lots of things that we can't control, but our art can be the most pure release & relief we can ever experience!!! (((DAWN)))
A.J.: You did an AWESOME job with Feb. NaNoJouMo! You should be proud of those pages! Thanks for your comments!
Deb: SO true! Love that saying...might make a good lettering illustration...Hmmm....
Absolutely love your page!! I completely agree, journaling is definately a powerful thing! I tend to put it off at times because I may not be feeling inspired (or at least that's my official reason :p) But it's really true what they say about just sitting down and playing, because when I do that the inspiration somehow just starts flowing. After playing around a bit and maybe even completing an entire page, everything seems alright with the world again :)
Dawn, I know exactly what you mean and I did the very same thing yesterday as well (maybe it was something special about the leap day?). I was about to go to bed, feeling very crappy, and said to myself, "I'm going to do a quick journal page first and just write down everything I am worrying about right now and if I want, I can always cover it up afterwards". I quickly filled a page just writing it all out, didn't think about what to say or making it pretty. Then I left it, went to bed and slept really well. It felt good just to get it out of my head and onto a page. Today, things feel a little more relaxed, and I have a few ideas about possible solutions to what I was worrying about. And like you, I'm wondering if I should add a little colour to the page I made last night.
You are so welcome! Glad you turned to your journal yesterday - you've shown us another wonderful page! I am trying to analyze your pages to figure out what it is that I love so much about them. Part of me is thinking I'm in love with my Little Prince Moleskine. . .
Hi Dawn, I think there is a releasing in journaling...can't really explain it but know it exists.
I enjoy your style of journaling...I purchased your cloth paper scissors DVD and found it very helpful and easy to follow. I have been journaling for several years, but it's fun to change it up a bit, doodling more, being a bit more random with images and using ephemera from my life.
Just wanted to thank you for your inspiration.
Thanks so much, Dawn!!! That means a lot!! :-)))
You know, last week I was SO unwell. Nausea, fever, chills, dizzy, the lot.
The only thing I could do that kept me from feeling so awful?
Doodling in my journal!
Honest to god!
I have no idea why, or how it could possibly do that, but journalling last week helped me to block out the horrible icky feeling I was having in waves.
Thank goodness for journalling, I say! ;)
Thank you Marilyn, Cynthia, Katt, Mary, and Trece! Art journaling definitely proves therapeutic! :)
I'm not sure if it is the alone time, the enjoyment of making art or the distraction for my mind. Probably all three. It's the best thing for me to do when I am in a bad mood. Either that or a nap.
I love your journal, Dawn! I truly missed viewing your art journal for sometime now, so I am overjoyed that you shared this spread.
Please keep up your cheerful work, it makes a lot of us HAPPY!
Much love,
D.
I find that my journal helps me process things that I might not have made it to the front of my consciousness. It gives me a landing place to put emotional stuff. Sometimes it's a tearful experience, but that's because I've either bottled stuff up or I'm refusing to acknowledge that stuff even exists! I almost always feel so much lighter after a good session making a huge mess!