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Art Journals and Art Journaling

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Art Journaling Is For Everyone

I have updated this page so it has the very latest in Art Journaling. I have added many videos of artists journaling. I am a very visual person I find this way the easiest to learn, so I am hoping these videos will help and inspire you too. I have also addedi n my favorite books about art Journaling. Some of them I own and have added little reviews of them. Others I want to buy soon !

Do you think you are creative enough to make an Art Journal?

It's amazing how many people say they dont have a creative bone in their body. Cracks me up really, its just not true. Ok maybe the name is scary, so lets call them glue books or sketchbooks, or just journals. Don't show them to anyone until you are more confident, just keep them for yourself. Maybe that will help some people to get started.:-).

The picture on this introduction was created By Teesha Moore.

Please check out my New Art Blog2012

“Everyone is born creative.”

We Are All Born Creative!

Picture is a Journal Page by Teesha Moore

Teesha Moore journal PageWe create all the time in everyday life. We change a recipe around. We help our kids with their fancy dress costumes ,we work out ways to hide veges in our kids food. We choose our clothes and what will go with what.

These are all ways of being creative. We all have it, its just some of us practice and get better at it and others dont!



Making an Art Journal is so easy, kids stuff really. If you enjoy cutting or ripping out pictures from a magazine and gluing them into a book. If you can write a sentence or two about how you are feeling, and if you can play with paint and draw abstract squiggles with a crayon or pastel then you can create a visual journal. This lens will give you lots of journal ideas.

 
Some of the pictures on this page are from my own I hope you enjoy them.

Fantastic Visual Journals

The Art Journal Workshop: Break Through, Explore, and Make it Your Own

The Art Journal Workshop: Break Through, Explore, and Make it Your Own



Tracey Bunkers is very well known for her journaling pages. Here is a video of her creating a journal page.Just scroll down. Enjoy!

Tracey Bunkers Journaling

Traci Bunkers Creates a Visual Journal Page
by TraciBunkers | video info

158 ratings | 34,715 views
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This Is A LOvely Journal to Use For Art Journaling!

Leather Journals are the Best!

FIORE - Flower Italian Leather Diary

FIORE - Flower Italian Leather Diary

Amazon Price: (as of 02/16/2012)Buy Now

This stylish leather diary comes with a convenient rubber-band closure to keep itself tightly closed when not in use. It will also help protect your deepest thoughts from nosy prying eyes when you're not around! The flower-accent adds a lot of charm and personality to this diary. Make writing fun again with this flower diary!

How to Make a Journal of Your Life

How to Make a Journal of Your Life



So you thought you couldnt journal.????? This guy didn't start drawing till he was in his mid thirties. He is a great example for everyone who wants to journal but doesn't know where to start.

First 3 Steps To Make A Visual Journal

Just Take Baby Steps!

1: Most of the time I buy cheap unlined journals with a heavier paper. They also have spirals and black front pages. I leave the covers till last, but there are no rules here and you can do what you like. This article is to give you ideas and get you started on one of the most enjoyable creative pursuits I know:-) If you are more inclined you can make your own journal or buy a handmade one. In the past I have found that I dont do a HUGE amount of writing in each page. I tend to use the pictures to convey to me what I am thinking about at the time and just make a statement of some type with writing or blocks of text.

2: The first thing I do is sit at a desk and colour about 10 pages. If you have the backgrounds already coloured it seems a lot easier to get going. There is something sort of scarey about plain white pages. I adore the look that watercolours give, so mostly I use them for the backgrounds of the pages. Sometimes I use acrylic paints.I like to pre scribble on the pages with crayons or oil pastels which acts as a sort of a resist under the paint.

3: I then wet the whole page then swish watercolor paints all over. I tend to stop with two colors, maybe add more water and tip the pages so the paint runs together. I am always in a hurry so the heat gun is a wonderous tool to get the papers dried quickly. I use silicone paper between the pages until everything is really dry.
Art Journals

The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict

The Journal Junkies Workshop: Visual Ammunition for the Art Addict



This is one of the books I would like to buy. Maybe I will put in on my wish list for my birthday in February.:-)

What Is Your Favorite Book About Visual Journaling?

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1,000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages and Inspirations (1000 Series)

1,000 Artist Journal Pages: Personal Pages and Inspirations (1000 Series)



Ok this is one I own, In fact I havnt had it that long. This book has very few words, so if you are looking for instructions it may not be for you. However I love it, because it is 320- pages of glossy colorful pictures of peoples journal pages. I like to look through it and see the details and decide what pages I love and get new perspectives on things. I find a lot of inspiration in these sorts of books and I love to see that lots of people journal in their own unique ways. The journal pages are from journals from all over the world and the names of the artists and the countries are next to the pictures.

3 More Steps ( Just Start With Baby Steps) To Visual Journaling

4: It really is up to you what you use and how you decorate the background.If you draw then you will know just how much of the background you want to colour. Some people want to do a lot of writing in the journal, then I would suggest that you colour around the top and edges and leave the inside of the page blank or you may find one of those wonderful pens that write over the top of the paint. I think its lovely to find "your own unique style" so you have your own "look".!

5: Remember to try any watercolour crayons, lumiere paints or twinking H2O paints ( I just bought some of these and am not sure I am much of a fan). Acrylics or oil paints and pastels, chalks, felt tipped pens, coloured pencils, black or coloured sharpies, Gold pens...................try them all out and see what combinations you love the most:-)

6: Once those background pages are done, you can leave the book until you are ready to decorate a page. When I feel in the mood I go to the book and choose a page that "calls to me".

Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun

Carla Sonheim

Drawing Lab for Mixed-Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun (Lab Series)



This book by Carla Sonheim is on the top of my wish list. I am not a natural drawer so I need to learn and even though I am 57yrs old I am not giving up yet. I have taught myself to draw faces, but I need to know more and I don't seem very motivated to practise. Now Drawing Carlas way, I think I maybe can do. She has the most fascinating unique way of drawing and I am smitten.Here is a picture, actually a print of hers. She is amazing.

Diana Trout Journaling

Random Journal Page
by DianaTro | video info

34 ratings | 4,931 views
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A Page from One of my Art Journals 

“Try This! Start every day with 10 minutes of Journaling. You will find that you have much more focus”

Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks: Exploring and Creating Personal Pages

Artists' Journals and Sketchbooks: Exploring and Creating Personal Pages



This one is in my library. Its by Lynne Perrella and she has published some wonderful books. I would call this book an ideas book. It has wonderful glossy colored pictures of journals and it also has wonderful ideas and tips from the artists. It is one of those books you just can't do without. Its inspiring, great fodder for the eyes and fills the well. I love it and would highly recommend this book.

Teesha Moore Journaling Collage Pt 1 of 4

Teesha Moore is the queen of art journaling in my opinion. Shes been doing this sort of journaling for years and years even before it became popular. If you want to learn a lot, it would pay you to go to her website which is Teesha Moore.com and look through it, check out her amazing blog and follow her videos. She still teaches and lives a journaling life. Enjoy these videos.
Teesha Moore Journaling Collage Part 1 of 4
by tracyvmoore | video info

64 ratings | 30,894 views
automatically generated by YouTube

Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artist

Alphabetica: An A-Z Creativity Guide for Collage and Book Artists (Quarry Book)



Here's another fabulous book by Lynne Perrella, and I also own this one. Alphabetica is full of glossy colorful photos of artists journal pages and its also full to the brim with ideas, tips, and "try This". It also has good descriptions of each picture so you can see how it was created. Techniques are explained so that you can learn and in the back of the book it has pages called "The Masters: Artists Workshops" which are full of instructions on different techniques from artists in the book.things like for example.layering, using vintage photos, transparencies and faux and ancient surfaces. Werll worth the money and great value. Love this one!

5 More Baby Steps on How To Make A Visual Journal

7: I dont start at the front page at all..this is about creativity and intuition and learning to feel those. The one thing I ALWAYS do is Date the page. This gives me some feel for the rhythm of my life as I look through the journal later on. I think its very important.

8: Now to the collage part! I love to flick through magazines and just pull out the pages or rip out the pictures that "call to me" at the time. Often I will have no idea why I want them, but do it anyway. I use the "Oprah" magazine quite a lot and I was lucky to buy in a second hand bookstore a book of coloured photos that graphic artists use. Some of these are very weird and they are sometimes just perfect for what I want.

9: Sometimes the picture I choose doesnt convey what I want to say at all but it just "feels right", so I use it anyway. I glue the pictures in the pages and then add the text. One of my favorite ways to do this is to cut out letters from the magazine to make up the words. I try to use different colours for each letter and make sure they are all different sizes. It just adds to the page.

10: The writing that I do in the page usually comes last. If you are a busy mum or you work out of the home, it is a great idea to take your journal with you and during lunch or while waiting to pick up children , or even when travelling, you can get it out and do the writing to finish off the page.
At one time I was very disciplined and worked on my journal every morning as I was eating breakfast. Made me feel really good but I was always left with a big mess to clean up LOL LOL.

11: Sometimes I draw on the page as you can see in the above one with "inspiration" written on the top. I drew some of the face and added bits of faces I got out of a magazine.
Art Journals

Art Journal Photos

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Which Is the best Journaling Book?

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Getting Started Art Journaling Kit

Getting Started Art Journaling Kit

FABER-CASTELL-Getting Started Art Journaling Kit. more...2 points

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Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling - Basics and Beyond by L.K. Ludwig

Creative Wildfire: An Introduction to Art Journaling - Basics and Beyond by L.K. Ludwig

Art journaling is a vital activity for artists who more...1 point

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Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls by Dawn DeVries Sokol

Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls by Dawn DeVries Sokol

Doodle Diary is an interactive guide to doodling that more...0 points

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True Vision: Authentic Art Journaling by L.K. Ludwig

True Vision: Authentic Art Journaling by L.K. Ludwig

Featuring the artwork of over 25 leading artists with more...0 points

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Faith Books & Spiritual Journaling: Expressions of Faith through Art (Quarry Book) by Sharon Soneff

Faith Books & Spiritual Journaling: Expressions of Faith through Art (Quarry Book) by Sharon Soneff

The only how-to project book for faith journaling.Keeping more...0 points

Another Page From One Of My Journals 

The Last Few Instructions on Making Your Own ArtJournals

12: I use clear smelly acetone based craft glue to do the collage with.............sometimes a glue stick will be perfect and not nearly as messy.

13: The last thing I do is add 3 dimensional elements if I feel like it. I make sure I am happy with the page. Working in my visual journal is very satisfying to me and I hope you will at least "give it a go".

I have made a goal to create something in my journal every day and it feels great when I achieve it.

art journals by Traci Bautista

handmade art journal tour by traci bautista
by treicdesigns | video info

15 ratings | 7,232 views
automatically generated by YouTube

Mixed-Media Art Journaling Techniques in a Strathmore Art Journal with Pam Carriker

Mixed-Media Art Journaling Techniques in a Strathmore Art Journal with Pam Carriker
by pamcarriker | video info

60 ratings | 10,563 views
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Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls

Doodle Diary: Art Journaling for Girls



If you have a daughter then this book on doodling looks like a great place to start her on her way to journaling. I am a big believer in kids journaling and I think it really helps them work through stuff during adolescence.

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