this art journal page is still in progress. i’ve noticed that i share more in-progress pages than completed ones. this is because all of the power and magic of art journaling lies in the process and that’s what i want to share here – the power and magic of art journaling.
i have been resisting my art journal for about a week. it is sitting open on my art table waiting for me and i keep walking by and feeling not ready. when i am resisting my art journal, it means i am resisting my feelings. there’s something happening inside me that i don’t want to see that i just know is going to pop out onto the page.
so finally, after a soothing lush bath i sat down and faced my journal.
everything is new
i started with this bright beautiful picture of a field of wheat that had been lying on my art table for some time. i stuck it on the top of the page.
as i painted around it it dawned on me how beautiful this image was and i started to feel myself really sink into my body and become present.
ohhh.
this is what i have been avoiding.
newness.
the field of wheat, the bright colours around it – all felt like newness and it dawned on me that in my life right now,
everything is new.
and as i stamped that phrase out on the page it really sunk in how many things in my life have been changing, how much is new, and how the smallest parts of me feel about that.
so i tore up pieces of notepad paper and stuck them on the other side of the page to start writing out how i’m feeling about the changes and some ideas that were coming to me to soothe the parts of me that feel unsettled with change.
this is a page i want to keep working on for some time, as i allow myself to sink deeper into my feelings, deeper into the shadows and the hidden, the parts of me that don’t normally have a voice. as i give all parts of me a voice i become more integrated and whole, and above all – more able to really be present with the magic and wonder of life. it’s so amazing how shutting out the discomfort also shuts out the bliss, and stepping into the discomfort opens up possibility.
now that i am getting this out onto the page i feel like space is opening up inside me. i can breathe again. i can feel the wonder and magic again.
if you are struggling with something, or avoiding something, i invite you to bring it to your journal, open up and see what comes out.
andrea schroeder creates creativity workshops, downloadable creativity kits and guided meditations to support you in knowing and remembering that you are a creative being and you can create anything.
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Beautiful and moving…thank you for sharing this. I haven’t been able to art journal in a while, even though there are some difficult transitions occurring in my life. I kept telling myself it was because I didn’t have time, but I wonder now if I was avoiding what might spill out.
Your site is so inspiring and uplifting. I always find something that speaks to me. Thanks again.
This post is encouraging me to start using my art journals differently. I tend to either vent, which is not usually productive for me, or just make something pleasing. That’s ok, but I think I might be missing something. Thanks for all the work and ideas you share. I enjoy and am inspired by your posts.
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