Visual Journaling by the Seat of Your Pants!

The creative possibilities for visual journaling are endless.

By Violette

"Often the journal page has some incredible insights for you which lay hidden in the recesses of your subconscious mind only to be set free by allowing yourself the luxury of being in the flow."

Visual Journaling need not be daunting or inaccessible to the novice visual journaler. The way I like to approach it is in an intuitive manner or by the seat of my pants! This manner of journaling is exciting because you never know where you’re going to end up. Often the journal page has some incredible insights for you which lay hidden in the recesses of your subconscious mind only to be set free by allowing yourself the luxury of being in the flow.

Be prepared to be influenced by what is going on around you at the time. For example, when I’m watching TV while visual journaling, the programs I’m viewing somehow find their imprint on the page. Once when I was watching a show on Monty Python, the heading on the journal page was written in a very scrolly decorative font which was a bit reminiscent of the fanciful beginnings of the show.

Preparation and Getting Started:

Doodle Faces
Practice doodling faces until you discover a face you might like to include on your page. Create the face on a piece of card stock which you can cut out and add later to your journal.

Make Borders
Make up a series of borders which you can use repeatedly in other journal pages. These borders might be checkerboards, spirals, or even stamped designs in black and white which you can photocopy onto card stock.

Have a Variety of Embellishments on Hand
Begin to create a stash of fun embellishments which you can incorporate into your visual journal page. Some of these might be: crepe paper, glitter, feathers, buttons, safety pins, hand dyed papers, fabric scraps, sequins, beads etc. If these embellishments are easily accessible then you’re more apt to use them.

Assemble Your Tools
My favorite tools to use these days are my micron pens and Twinkling H2O water colors. Sometimes I use watercolor pencil crayons too! You might choose to use a paint set to color your page.

Visual journal pages can be designed in any creative way that suits you. This layout includes a collage of elements prepared and cut out ahead of time, embellishments, blank space, and a talk bubble to write in.

Creating Your Visual Journal Pages:

Begin by doodling a large face in pencil. Ink it in with your Micron pen, erase the pencil lines. Paint the face with your Twinkling H2O’s or a watercolor set. Choose a border that you have made ahead of time and cut out. In this particular journal page I’ve decided to use a talk bubble so draw it on cardstock and cut out. On a separate piece of cardstock paint the background page in a pleasing color. At this point you can choose whether or not to leave the page plain or you can splatter it with paint (like I did here) or add another pattern as in the checkerboard background. The lighter the background color the easier it will be for you to write over top of it. When the background piece is dry glue your face, border and talk bubble onto it.

Now here is where the intuitive and fun part comes in. Ask the page what it wants to say and go with your first impression. You might get a word like “Inspiration” or “Create” or “Blurt” which you write onto your page with your Micron pen... then let your thoughts flow from there and write them into your talk bubble or in the blank areas of the page. Don’t censor yourself or think too much. Thinking too much gets in the way of the magical creative process. After you complete this part you are free to embellish the rest of the page with your stash of ornamentations.

Filling in the details: Listen closely to what your page wants to say or needs. What insights lay hidden in the recesses of your subconscious mind? Set them free!

If you listen closely the page will tell you what it wants or needs! Flying by the Seat of your Pants has never been so much fun! •

© Violette 2006. All rights reserved.

About the Author | More by Violette
Violette is a whimsical creative spirit living in B.C., Canada. She can be found driving her Glittergirl van around White Rock, B.C. and living in the Magic Cottage. You can find out more about her art, workshops, and read her online blog at www.violette.ca.

03/04/06