Ways to Get Ideas for an Art Journal Page

~Artwork past Andrea Chebeleu

Anyone who frequents Somerset Identify knows that nosotros are huge fans of art journals.  Nosotros go along them as a place of inspiration, to play with new materials, and to establish new motifs and designs. Our magazine, Art Journaling, is chock full of inspiring artists and art journals to aspire to with our own creative practices, simply where to first?

This post will explain the ins and outs of fine art journaling and then that y'all can beginning your journey to self-expression. If you're already familiar with the medium of art journaling, there are too some fun tips for taking your art journals to the next level!

Why Fine art Periodical?

According to Psychology Today, fine art journals can serve as a "transitional object" that allow individuals to repair, self-soothe, and de-stress. James Pennebaker conducted research that suggests that journaling tin can help help recovery from trauma and that by writing or journaling, the individual can make the feel more manageable.

Benefits of Art Journaling:

• Self-expression
• Stress reduction
• Self-soothing
• May aid cocky-regulation
• A course of self-intendance
• Restores emotional equilibrium
• Tin help externalize stressful feeling sand emotions
• Strengthen feelings of well-being
• A place to experiment with new fine art materials
• A place to do motifs and themes in grooming for larger canvases and substrates

Start with a Journal

If yous are simply beginning art journaling, the first step is to selection a journal that yous can piece of work in. There are tons of options out there from notebooks made specifically for mixed-media art to repurposed books.

Dylusions Creative Journals

Dylusions Creative Journals are the gold standard for art journals. They have thick, luxurious paper that volition stand up to all mediums without warping or pilling. They also have a thick kraft encompass to protect your artwork and provide one more than identify to decorate and express your own personal artistic style. Choose from multiple sizes to find the art journal that is perfect for your needs.

Standard Notebooks

Any notebook tin exist an art periodical. From the limerick books that we all used in school to a fancy leather journal, every notebook can be transformed into a place for your artwork. Standard notebooks are especially platonic if you lot are planning on using your art journal primarily for sketching, dry mediums, or collage art. Standard notebooks aren't recommended for extremely wet mediums, similar watercolor, because the pages may bleed, warp, or wrinkle. If you program to use moisture mediums in a standard notebook, be sure to prep your pages really well, which volition be covered below.

Repurposing an old volume

One-time books are a popular choice for mixed-media artists considering it provides a substrate that is already filled with texture and patterns. Priming the pages with gesso allows the book's text to peek through, adding i more layer of interest to the work as a whole.

Some Things to Consider When Looking for an Old Book Fine art Journal:

• Always cheque the binding/spine first. If the pages are coming loose or the spine is coming apart, then the book isn't a adept candidate for your fine art journal.
• Find a book that lies apartment while open. This volition make it easier to work in.
• Pick a book with somewhat smooth pages. Dime novels and cheaper paperbacks are fabricated from a paper that will pill when wet, so they don't work well as fine art journals.
• Option a book with a encompass and field of study affair that you like. If you determine to leave the text visible in your artwork, having a book that you enjoy will ensure that the words are meaningful to you. Nada is worse than realizing halfway through the artwork that the page you are working on is talking about something unpleasant. I made hand-stamped tags for a political party in one case, merely to realize that the book's text was talking about the plague in medieval Europe … in graphic detail.

Binding your own book

If yous like to piece of work with unusual sizes or if you need a certain type of newspaper, you may want to consider binding your own book. This option is likewise smashing for beginners because they can select which completed pages they want to keep in their finished book. Word of Warning: An fine art journal should be a identify of liberty and self-expression, and so if your inner critic wants to discard every page, and so this type of art journal may not be for you.

This is as well a popular option if you lot want to recycle materials to brand your art journal. Paint on cereal boxes, cardboard from aircraft boxes, or scraps of recycled paper for an eco-friendly manner to create your art journal.

When deciding how to bind your volume together, you tin find many book binding tutorials on YouTube. You can also opt for a simple hole-dial threaded with ribbon. The possibilities are limitless when making your own book.

Preparing Your New Fine art Journal

One time you lot have decided on which art journal to use, you'll demand to prepare the surfaces for your beautiful artwork.

1. Seal the gutter. This is an optional step, just tin make a big difference in preventing bleed if you are working with watercolors or wet mediums. The gutter is the centre seam where the ii pages of your fine art journal spread meet. In lodge to prevent watercolor and other mediums from seeping into the spine and showing upward on other pages, you can tape the seam with masking tape, gaffers tape, or even washi tape.
2. Prep the page with gesso. Gesso volition provide the "molar" that you need while also preventing the mediums from bleeding through the pages. You can get more information on gesso in our Beginner's Guide to Acrylic Paint Mediums and Additives. Y'all don't have to limit yourself to white gesso, though. If using patterned paper, you tin preserve the design by using clear gesso. Y'all can also apply black gesso to create an entirely new experience.

Must-Have Art Journaling Tools and Supplies

With your journal prepped and ready to go, you are set to embark on your art journaling journey. With just a few supplies, you can create brilliant art journal pages. Here is a bones listing of materials that you should accept in your art journaling arsenal if you are merely starting out.

Gel Medium — Your New Best Friend

Gel Medium is an absolute essential for any art journaler. Utilise it as glue when you lot are collaging, or utilise it to seal your mixed-media layers. Gel medium provides a thin layer that will adhere your elements to the page and protect the piece of work.

Tip: If you find that gel medium causes your pages to stick together even when they are dry, yous can continue a piece of wax paper in between the pages or spray each folio with a clear acrylic sealer to remove the tacky quality from your pages.

Colour Tools

Pull out the crayons, pastels, chalks, watercolor pencils, and more! H2o-soluble color tools are especially well-suited for art journaling because they allow you to create watercolor effects without having to utilise as much water. Simply apply a little bit of pigment to the page then blend with a wet castor. This keeps the pages from getting soaked and allows you more control over the work. Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks, Distress Crayons by Tim Holtz, water-soluble crayons and oil pastels, and watercolor pencils are all dandy options for your fine art journaling.

Ephemera

If you don't already accept an ephemera stash, start at present! Ephemera is a wonderful source of inspiration when you are getting started with your art journal page. Relieve your favorite magazine images, receipts, ticket stubs, volume folio scraps, pictures, flyers, junk mail, and more than to have a wealth of materials to piece of work with. Collage them into a background or pick a few to highlight on each page.

Ideas to Get Started

With an art journal, there are no limits to the manner your pages can look, what mediums you can utilise, or the artistic techniques available. However, that can seem a niggling overwhelming to first art journalers. Some observe that information technology is easier to stay focused and inspired if they pick a theme to work with, like portraits or flowers. There is no correct or wrong mode to art journal, but hither are a few ideas to go y'all started.

Magazine Collage

Download Dianne Fifty. Fago's article on fine art journaling with magazines here!

If y'all get inspired when flipping through a magazine, then this type of fine art journal is for you lot. Collage mag images, juxtapose the different clippings, and create stunning visual arrangements with this technique.

Inspirational Quotes Journaling

Whether you lot're capturing the quotes of Maya Angelou or illustrating sayings from Dr. Seuss, a quotes journal is focused effectually the written discussion. Gather your favorite quotes and create a busy page for each quote.

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Source: https://blog.stampington.com/2018/03/30/start-mixed-media-art-journal/

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