5 reasons I art journal

As part of my journey round the color wheel this year I’m creating an art journal. It began life as a world atlas which seemed kinda fitting for an adventure like this. Old and dog-eared, it’s time had come for reincarnation as an altered book.

As the idea for this adventure sprang from a year long art journal project it seemed amiss not to include that part again this time round.

At the end of March I was looking back over the first three colors of the first three months (yellow, yellow-green, green) and remembering a time not that long back when art journalling wasn’t a part of my life.

For reals. 

Is it part of yours? If not, have you been curious why some folks get so giddy about it?

Here are five of my reasons

1. A home for the offcuts and scraps of paper that are enough to remind me of an idea I had, a reminder of something to try again – or not to.
2. A place to explore – what happens if I use this paint on this material? Do these pens work on this paper? Does this pen still work, or will it inklessly scratch marks, and how do they look?
3. It’s the page I scribble notes to me-in-the-future: the name of the book or the band or the thing I just remembered, the meme that made me laugh or think or a bit confused and might want to about again. These might well get obliterated under layers, but once I’ve written something down I often remember it anyway. 
4. A safe zone for mess – there’s nothing precious here, it can all get covered up and that’s fine. It’s all transient. If this get drips and splashes, they add to its charm. 
5. Unplanned & unstructured, this is the organic way that most of my art grows. Every page in a book like this can spark hundreds of ideas. 

Want to see how the TWELVTY book is progressing? Check back soon, I’ve got more to show you! X

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Author: Mixy

artist, thing maker & idea magpie. I am making it all up, one bit at a time. View all posts by Mixy