Art Journal Process: Button Hill

Intuitive Art Journaling

Most of the time when I play in my art journal, I have no idea where I'm heading but this page still surprised me. Does that ever happen to you?

Intuitive art journaling is not easy. It takes time to develop that trust within yourself. There is a non-verbal reaction to what is gong on. You may not be thinking at all. But then something else occurs to you and you have to trust that instinct and act on it.

I was going to do some writing on this page but decided to let it stand on its own. There was no need really. I know exactly what it means. Never underestimate the power of art as therapy. Here is the video where I explain the techniques and the supplies are listed below. I'd love to hear from you about working this way. 

Comments

[muriel]

Ah, I absolutely love your page! This sort of page happens to me too, not as often as I'd like to (too much thinking too often), but whenever it happens it really makes me feel happy and at peace. And then, I don't need to journal on it either.

[Emie]

I noticed how you laid dozen 5 strips of horizontal papers across the middle... then you added that number 5. Serendipity? TFS!!

[Mary W.]

Hi Diana! I absolutely love this page and loved watching how it took you in unexpected directions. Really inspires me to just get down to it rather than having a set plan in mind. I read this Chuck Close quote on facebook today and thought of it watching you work,

"The advice I like to give young artists, or really anybody who'll listen to me, is not to wait around for inspiration. Inspiration is for amateurs; the rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself. Things occur to you. If you're sitting around trying to dream up a great art idea, you can sit there a long time before anything happens. But if you just get to work, something will occur to you and something else will occur to you and something else that you reject will push you in another direction. Inspiration is absolutely unnecessary and somehow deceptive. You feel like you need this great idea before you can get down to work, and I find that's almost never the case."

[Diana Trout]

Thanks Muriel and Bingo! No need for words. I don’t always allow myself (or have) the time but it feels so good!

[Diana Trout]

lol, good timing! Thanks for leaving this quote, Mary and for watching my video. I agree with Chuck Close to a point. I do think that many of us are sometimes struck by inspiration - fleeting and pure. But would say that for the most part, it’s about planting yourself in a chair with some art supplies.

[Diana Trout]

Oh wow. Yes, that was serendipity, Emie. How very odd. The page was all in reference to myself and 4 siblings: 5. Thanks!

[SusanJane]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. So many think art journaling is ONLY pretty pictures, pretty prompts, and various trendy techniques. Of course an art journal can be anything you want it to be. At the same time there is a great deal that happens when journaling intuitively as well as personally. The pages that really matter to me have been about me and what goes on in my life. It's a visual diary, especially since I rarely write anything. I kept a written journal for over 30 years but it was mostly complaining. Anyway, I love the buttons on this page. It's visually interesting, but its also talks to me about all the laundry I do and those mysterious buttons that show up without rhyme or reason.

[Diana Trout]

lol. Mysterious buttons. Thanks for your comment SusanJane! I enjoy working intuitively too.