Like Leslie said on Twitter the other day and like she said on her blog, you don't need all that stuff! If you just get your art journal, which does not have to be a expensive name brand journal, and a mark maker, you're set to go. Use a pencil, a marker, a pen. Just one. It's enough to art journal. Having tons of stuff staring at you while you're waiting for inspiration might even stop you from creating anything at all. Especially if the supplies are expensive, and you feel like you have to wait for The Right Moment To Use Them, you might never get to that point.
Here are two pages in my brand new art journal, both done in BIC pen only. Well, on a pre-gessoed page, but still..
The first page is about the loss of a girl on the eating disorder forum I work for. She's been there for years, went through an awful lot and seemed to be doing slightly better.. but not everything is the way it seems. The other day she was found after taking a overdose, and she was already gone...
The second one is a very happy page, it's where I write about how four years ago, I moved to England to be with my Love. It's amazing how time flies!
I quite like the rawness of these pages. The 'this is all I've got and it's all I needed'. All it takes is a journal and a pen.
Now it's your turn! I would love to see what you can do in your journal with just a pen or a pencil or some markers. And be sure to show Leslie, too!
this is absolutely what iNeeded to read to get me out of my slump...iHave a tendency to spend so much time collecting supplies and "planning" art journal entries, instead of just digging in and DOING it! great post, eveline!
ReplyDeleteThanks Mara. Be sure to let us know what you come up with!
ReplyDeleteStuff can get in the way!! I'm learning what Stuff can do, but I certainly don't NEED the Stuff. I do love how plain ball point pen looks! Thanks for the reminder <3
ReplyDeleteThank you! I too collected much much STUFF. Not the expensive kind because I'm on a non-existing budget, but still.. I have tons. And how much of it do I actually use on a daily basis? Not even half. And I could do pages with a whoooole lot less.
ReplyDeleteThis post is music to my ears! Completely agree... although it's incredibly hard to prevent falling into that trap sometimes... this was just perfecto. Love that you included some awesome examples too...
ReplyDelete:)
Hoi Lieverd, wat een rotnieuws zeg, dat er weer iemand is "ontsnapt"... En vooral met de achtergrond die we kennen, is het zo moeilijk, Heb net een goede vriendin ook weer moed in gesproken... *zucht*, heel naar. Zelf heb ik ook in die schoenen gestaan, maar nu gaat het wel ok. Niet met eten, maar wel met mn hoofd...
ReplyDeleteKNuf
Kaatje
This is soooo... soooo.... true. I have been trapped into this concept of "I NEED THAT" many times! I am working on just getting to my art journal instead! Thanks for sharing this. I nominated you for an award on my blog as I am really enjoying your posts.
ReplyDeleteHugs
There's nothing wrong with wanting to try out new stuff, or even with wanting more and more and more... But.. to art journal, you really don't need all that much. Sometimes having tons of supplies in front of you can make you blank out completely. Too many choices!
ReplyDeleteSo sometimes, it's a good idea to step back, and take just one or two mark-makers and see what you can do with those.
(also a good idea for journaling while out and about and you don't want to drag a whole suitcase full of stuff with you to the park)