Image courtesy of InMyHeadStudios

Adding textures.

Layering is key to the visual journal, but so is texture. It creates a much more interesting product.

One way to add textures is to use found objects and print them on your pages. Whether they're already printed or whether you will be painting over some of your stamped textures, it's another layer and another point of interest for the viewer.

THESE PAGES:

Use whatever you have around the house to create textures. Found object printing can be done as simply as with paint and fingertips! Experiment with different objects and what their prints look like. 

Just a few ideas you probably already have: cups, bubble wrap, stamps from an art supply store, plastic bags, wax paper, rope, twine, good ol' potato printing, coins, leaves, fabrics, spices, utensils, combs, jewelry, paper towel...

You can use a traditional stamp pad, relief printing ink, acrylic paint, tempera paint, even washes of watercolor or ink, gesso, even pastel dust... many things will create a stamped image.

Image courtesy of InMyHeadStudios

Image courtesy of Ro Bruhn

Write your heart out

As in a fateful twist, I was introduced to Stephanie Lee's blog today, Semiprecious Salvage. Stephanie is a artist and an avid journal writer and teacher. The images, words, and thoughts that her page contains are like flashes from memories that you never had. Soft and slightly worn, as though thinking about things can give them that my-favorite-comfy-t-shirt feeling.

She also teaches an e-course, Shifting Ground: finding solid footing through journal writing. I think I might take it! Here's HER description: "At the start of this new year, I invite you to gift yourself with self-love and acknowledgment, reaching out for common hearts, clarity in direction and a resolution to give yourself and others the support you need to be present - to shine as your full, radiant self." Doesn't that sound a-MAZ-ing?!

As it nears the holidays, and like I mentioned last post, it seems as though there is more to do than there is time to do it all! And when life starts to get overwhelming, I rely more and more on to-do lists and journaling. It's important to get the thoughts out in order to get a good night's sleep, and to make sure everyone is accounted for, present-wise! And so, I write. I write and write and list and write.


THESE PAGES:
Experiment with writing.

Use your visual journal as a journal. A place to capture a moment, a feeling, a fleeting thought, a nagging to-do list. It can be as public or as private as you like.  Make it illegible! Paint over it! Make it nice, neat, and orderly. It's up to you.

Here are just a few exercises that can get you going.

Stream of consciousness:

Huge fan of this. It's too easy to get frustrated or intimidated by the blank page. So just write. Pick a topic, or pick your brain, but just write. Whatever comes to mind. Song stuck in your head? Not able to think of anything at all to write? "I am stuck. I can't think of anything to write." Those are words! That is writing! Or, be more structured and choose a topic. Like, "happiness is..." and fill in the blank. Repeatedly.

Lists:

Like I said earlier, I love making lists. Usually, they're pretty mundane and I try to keep them out of my journal... like, buy half and half, call Z, finish blog post... And sometimes I try to list different things: Things I Learned from My Father, CD's That Have Made an Impact on My Life, Reasons I Love Coffee... Anything! So start making a list. Keep in in your journal.

Obscure It:

Paint over it. Collage over it. Write it on a separate piece of paper, put it in an envelope. Write it on a separate paper and then tear it up and use it to make a collage! Really, you can make your confessions, or be as silly as you want... and then not have to worry about someone seeing that if you don't want them to. Write a letter to someone you are angry with, or have unresolved issues with. Tell someone your deepest, darkest secrets... and then destroy that letter! It's cathartic. And, looking back on the page, you will recall that you let that darkness OUT... to allow for more light within. Here's an interesting article about letter-writing as therapy.

Hate your handwriting? 

Personally, I think, too bad! It's a part of you, a natural rhythm, a direct result of your muscles and brain working simultaneously... It's personal, revealing, indicative of your mood and energy levels... BUT, feel free to experiment, as this is a VISUAL journal. 

Type it and collage it in.

Copy a font from the computer, or check out daFont.com for new and innovative letter designs.

Try a new pen or pencil or marker.

Write REAL BIG!

Spin your book in a new direction. Write sideways or upside down!

Use your non-dominant hand. Or your toes, for that matter!

And if you are daydreaming...

...You're probably supposed to be working.

Today's theme, in contrast with yesterday's "dream" is WORK.

As we get closer to the holidays, it seems there is more work to do than there is time in a day... or maybe that's just to procrastinators like me. Who still haven't started Christmas shopping!

So, THIS PAGE:

WORK themed page. 

As everyone groaned, saying, "but I hate working!" and, "this will be an UGLY page," they got straight to it and worked very quietly (unusual! Means everyone was very wrapped up in their pages!) for the next hour. 

And, some of their pages are actually... FUN!

Baby you're a dreamer

DREAM.


Yet it is in our idleness, in our dreams, that the submerged truth sometimes comes to the top.

Virginia Woolf

Do you agree or disagree?

THIS PAGE:

Dream. 

Recall a dream, think of Martin Luther King, Jr., discuss whether fish dream...

Day 18!

We're almost halfway through our second quarter, which means we are 3/8 of the way through the school year! It flies by!

Think about how cyclical life is, where were you this time last year? Getting ready for the holidays... again... and thinking about how quick it goes! It seems to go from summer to winter here in NJ... here at school it often feels like it goes from summer break straight to Christmas; it's such a busy time of year.

It's the circle of life... enjoy it!


THIS PAGE:
Fill the page with circles. Fill some in when you're done.

(think about variety! thicknesses, sizes, patterns.... )

Working with Paper

• Go to your local bookstore.
• Look for Collage Lab by Bee Shay.
• Read and be inspired.
• And, OMG! Bee Shay has a companion blog: http://www.collagelab.typepad.com/
• [Buy it here!]

This week, we've been working on the Paper Lab in Collage Lab (Shay, 14).  Using anything from handmade papers, Mulberry papers, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, playing cards, receipts, we're creating the base for some artworks to come. 

THESE PAGES:

Use paper to create a foundation for 10 pages in your journal. Using Mod Podge, matte medium, glue sticks, or Elmer's glue, attach all different kinds of papers in your journal. Be careful to let them dry fully, experiment with textures--like crinkling and tearing, layer them to get new patterns and textures,  and reflect on which ones you like best, and why. You're building your arsenal for later journaling. 

Nerdy Robots

Today's prompt is to design a robot, write like a robot, or otherwise be influenced by robots.

This Etsy Treasury is so cute with nerdy things, robots included.

Also, if you're in to robots, tomorrow is Nerd Nite in Philly... lectures, comedy, and music of the geeky variety, all for $5 at the Fieldhouse in Center City.


THIS PAGE:
Design a robot, write like a robot, or otherwise be influenced by robots.

Ever changing...

m.c. escher, Metamorphosis

THIS PAGE:
"Evolution"

Making up for the past few days!

Something's been going on with the internet here lately... hopefully now we're back in action.

This idea comes directly from these amazing, hilarious, smart infographics by Jessica Hagy. Let's hope that during this Visual Learning/Journaling process your curiosity does not follow the same downward slope of this graph. Stay in wonderment, friends.

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Create a graph measuring something in your life. Serious, silly, personal, pie chart, bar graph, Venn diagram...

Oh So Symbolic

I'm listening to the Prince Pandora radio station, and not only has it made my day, but I've been dancing and singing while journaling today. Sheila E., MJ, Prince and friends... awesome.
So what's the Prince connection? Today's about creating a symbol to represent YOU.

THIS PAGE:

Create a symbol for yourself.  Hopefully you won't really change your name to this symbol, so we have to start referring to you as "the artist formerly known as..." But there are infinite possibilities for what symbol will represent you.

Some ideas my students came up with...
... a tag-style version of his name
... a ginger flower for a red-haired darling
... the symbol she always doodles on foggy windows
... the tattoo she'll one day get

Save me!

As the same fire assumes different shapes

When it consumes objects differing in shape,

So does the one Self take the shape

Of every creature in whom he is present. Marcus Aurelius

Fire alarms in my dorm at 3:30 a.m. and me in a robe and bare feet is as close to a fire in my home as I have been. Thankfully, it was a false alarm, because I didn't even remember to grab slippers [or pants for that matter!]... but that's beside the point.

The question today is what things do you surround yourself with that have the most meaning? What in your life absolutely cannot be replaced?

What would you grab (and don't answer pants!) if you had to leave your home at the drop of a hat? Some people live with this possibility (due to social unrest, government issues) on a daily basis. Be thankful for what you have, but do think about what you couldn't live without.

THIS PAGE:

What 3 things would you save from your burning home? [3 objects-- let's pray family members and pets are OK]



Life's Topography

Have you heard that you can tell a great deal about a person based on their hands? I imagine that certain hands can tell you everything from a person's job to socioeconomic status to marriage status to pets owned. What do your hands say about you?

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Draw your hand-- all of the lines, creases, and wrinkles.
Turn it into a map of your life.

In progress...

Manic Monday

Murphy's Law: Anything that can go wrong, will.

From oversleeping to frost on the windshield to no gas... this Monday morning was definitely a manic one for me.

Which is why, as I am convincing myself not to sweat the small stuff (you're just 10 minutes late for work, there are WAY worse things that could happen!), I am also thinking about what I believe to be most important. For instance, not to sweat the small stuff, like that I am late, that my hair looks crazy today, that I don't really like my outfit, or that the cat knocked my alarm clock over... again. And instead be glad you're going to work, to a job that you love, that you HAVE a car to be frosty and a kitten who knocks things over, that you are in good health.

So today we take a page from the "thankful" book, and again think about the things that we truly think are most important. 

THIS I BELIEVE

I don't know if you've ever caught one of these essays when they air on All Things Considered on NPR, but they almost always bring tears to my eyes. Started by Edward R. Murrow, essays on the topic "This I Believe" are written and submitted by people--some famous, some not--and collected and sometimes recorded. 

A Public Dialogue About Belief:  http://thisibelieve.org/

I highly recommend checking out these essays, listening to a few, and seeing what comes to your mind. What are the things that you believe to be most important? What rules of the road do YOU live by?

THIS PAGE:

"This I Believe"

Create a page based around this closure. 

For example... "Chocolate is great. Yes, this I believe whole-heartedly." It can be that simple. But it can also be as complex as you like, a comment on your faith and beliefs, or possibly a dialogue about something you DON'T believe. How do you know what you believe without knowing what you do not believe?

Relax. Listen to yourself. Believe.

Tuesday already!

That means I missed 2 days!

This will probably be my last posts until after Thanksgiving, so here is some food for thought-- maybe enough to balance out the food for the belly that will be consumed over the next couple days.

• Thankful...

be thankful. what things are you thankful for?
I heard Oprah's Favorite Things episode was on yesterday and that it was sickening what they got. Those people have some things to be thankful for, like being chosen to be in THAT audience!
Seriously, though, I know I have an infinite number of things to be thankful for... including but not limited to my family and friends, my work, my kittens...

THIS PAGE:
Create a brainstorm-- perhaps a brain deluge-- of the things that you are thankful for.

• Fantastic Voyage...

tomorrow I will be on the roads with everyone and their whole family, probably. First time travelling on the day BEFORE Thanksgiving. Here's to a safe ride... and not sitting in complete traffic the whole way up the NY Thruway.
I love love love road trips, though. I love car rides, I love driving, I love listening to NPR, I love the random conversations that inevitably start in the car. I love doodling about license plate words, and road signs, and bridges... change of scenery, I guess. Poughkeepsie and New Paltz, the Adirondacks, it is so pretty this time of year, as well. Though I hear it's supposed to be raining tomorrow.

THIS PAGE:
Be inspired by travel. Maybe it's a previous vacation, a dream vacation, or the highway drive to relatives' homes, but create a travelin' page.

Eye Candy

If you just do a search on Google ["art journaling" or "visual journaling"] you'll get a fabulous array of images... sure to inspire.

Journal to tell a story

Some inspiration for today... a college scholarship video with a super-cool journal.

http://adsoftheworld.com/media/tv/langara_college_rethink_scholarship

Day 5: Your Stash

Call me a hoarder, but I collect. From quotes, to images, to art supplies, to books, I like to hold on to things that I like.

Still along the lines of getting to know WHO you are is knowing what you like. There are certain colors, textures, images, words, and moods that you will consistently be drawn to, consciously or unconsciously. Whether it has to do with clothing, music, books or movies, artwork, magazines, or anything else that you deal with on a regular basis-- there is a tie that binds. The question is, what ties it all together?

TODAY:
Begin scavenging. (Scavengering?) Be a scavenger. Look through any sort of print media for things that appeal to you. Any thing. Tear it out. Ticket stubs, train schedules, stickers, labels, stamps...You may not even want to be critical, you can always choose not to use it later.
When creating your stash, look for patterns in the things that you collect. Did you tear out a hundred pictures of birds? Is everything you tore out green? Notice these things.

Keep your stash in your journal somewhere, with an envelope or paper clip (or my favorite, the binder clip). You never know when a page might just scream for that perfect green bird picture to be glued to it.

SIDE PROJECT:
While gathering your stash, find the letters that make up your name (like a ransom note). Set them aside for now.

100 Things I Love

Defining love, what an abstract and difficult idea and task. So come up with a list of 100 things (people, places, songs, colors... etc.) you love. Do you find yourself smiling, laughing, being surprised as you list things?

Once you can list things you love, you can begin to define love and what it means to love, to be in love. The importance of smiles, laughs, and surprises that love brings.

THIS PAGE:

Grid out a 2-page spread. Depending on the size of your pages, your need for order, and your skill with a ruler, this grid can be set up in a million ways. Don't feel pressured to make all of the boxes the same size, or having the same number across and down. But get at least 100 boxes. 

In each box, place something you love. It could be the words. Sketches. A color. A tiny picture. A combination of all of these things. You may or may not want to label them. 

I really love coffee, so there's a little coffee cup drawn in about 5 of my 100 boxes. The combination of blue and orange--something I love-- is a few adjacent boxes colored in, combined with a plus sign. 

Break your own rules. Go outside your comfort zone. Group like Loves. Or don't!

Just enjoy spending some time thinking about the things you truly love.

  

Day 3

It is layers that make things interesting. From outfits, to people, to cakes, to houses, and yes, to journals-- it's being able to see the foundation as a jumping-off point, and the endless possibilities that foundation can start.

When it comes to your visual journal pages, there should be some sort of foundation--whether it's a texture, a color, a mood, a feeling, or an image-- to add depth and interest to the page.
Also, the foundation can serve a real purpose, such as adding a little strength to an otherwise flimsy page. You wouldn't build sheetrock walls right on the grassy lot you purchased, you need to clear the lot, lay the foundation, put up some supports... you get the idea!

Foundation ideas:

• An image you want to cover all or part of
• Scrap paper
• Gesso [primer for canvasses, available in most art supply stores] (white acrylic paint works pretty well, too), tinted with acrylic paint or bright white.
• Tapes (masking, packing, duct)

And those are just a couple.

THESE PAGES:
 Lay the foundation for several pages. Try to do this for most pages in your book. Not only will it make the paper a little heartier, it will add that layer of interest to your designs.

TIPS:

• keep wet pages from sticking together by placing little cardboard tents between the pages.
• use a scrap paper under your page to protect your table surface and the rest of your journal from your paint or glue. Especially when using [permanent] gesso!
• when gluing things together, think thick to thin. It's much easier to glue tissue paper TO cardboard than vice versa.
• keep textures in mind. packing tape's slick surface is going to mean you won't be able to draw directly on it without a permanent marker or gessoing the surface first.

Days 1 and 2

I'm a little behind. We're figuring this out as we go along here in D-201. So far, we've spent time with what I think are the 5 most important things to keep in mind as you work in your journal.
They are:

• Play
• Experiment
• Perfection
• Mess
• Feel

You have to have an understanding of what these words mean to YOU, and be willing to at least give them a try.
Experimentation (flying blindly!) can be wildly uncomfortable for some people... but hopefully you can find a freedom and a judgement-free place in those experiments. Maybe you haven't "played" since you were 12. Allow yourself to laugh, to smile, to pretend, to imagine, and to do what feels good, just because it feels good!

• THIS PAGE:

Take one of those 5 words and create a page around it.
Say the word, live with the word, write the word.
Express your feelings about this word on this page, with writing, with images, with colors, with marks.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Visual Learning blog!

Hopefully, this will be a place where you can gain inspiration for your visual journal, sketchbook, or whatever creative outlet you keep!

Remember the vow*:
"I solemnly promise, that from this day forward, I shall never be caught without a journal, and I will make use of it every day."
*borrowed