What to Do When You Don't Know Where to Start.
Have a hankering to begin art journaling, but don't know where to begin?
“Just do it” sounds and feels cliche, but it works.
Frequently, when I ask clients what they found most helpful about our coaching session, they report—in various ways—that it was the act of getting down to business. The fact that they took action and did their thing—if even for just a little bit of time, bolstered their confidence, created momentum, and re-ignited their excitement.
The other day, someone asked me what advice I’d give a client who wants to start creating in an art journal but is scared, overwhelmed (or both), and doesn’t know where to start.
“Start with anything,” is what I’d say.
“Anything” can sound intimidating, but it can be as simple as a paint stroke, mark, line, scribble, piece of collage, or countless other things. This is known as the primal mark—that original mark that starts everything.
Most of the time, you won’t be able to identify your primal mark by the time you reach the end of your composition. Only you will know it’s there or how the whole thing began. Its purpose is to destroy the blank page and give you a problem to fix or a question to answer.
Just do one thing, then keep going. At the end of each move, ask yourself, “What now”? Think in these terms: What are you curious about? What seems to make sense? What seems weird? What would you never do? What are you afraid to do (do it!)? What would feel good? What’s an old stand-by mark or color you always enjoy?
IMAGINE. Imagine. IMAGINE.
An especially thrilling bonus of art journaling is its privacy.
Just like written journaling, visual journaling is a place to test theories and thoughts and work through emotions. There is no right or wrong to it. No one is going to grade your paper. And no one needs to see it.
You can mix colors till you get mud, scribble so hard you scrape through your paper, layer acrylic over oil pastel, write your deepest, darkest secret, and then cover it with gesso. Always with the option to close the cover and put it on the shelf.
This is your playground, Babe, and the recess monitor is nowhere in sight.
When you have the chance to move through your work without inhibition, the unimaginable begins to appear. Things you never could have visualized begin to materialize on your pages.
Some of this will be magic. Some of it will be shpoop. Sorry, but it will, AND that’s okay.
Remember: it’s all okay. We’re not aiming for perfect, correct, or beautiful here. We’re aiming for flow, expression, enjoyment, relief, introspection, and insight…. We’re on a quest for presence, depth, and discovery.
Still not sure you can get there? Let’s visualize it and see how you feel at the end.
Meditative Moments are alternately posted on my website and on Substack, but every single one is shared via Mailchimp.
This month, I’m including a bonus audio recording of the meditation in the email, which will go out within the next few days.
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Your Meditation for Uninhibited Creative Play
Find yourself a comfortable, seated position, preferably with your feet on the ground and your back gently straight, with or without support. Keep a pen and paper handy to make notes as you feel the urge. It's okay to have thoughts and to want to jot them down. Do it, then return to your contemplation.
Feel free to close your eyes and do small bits at a time after you read them, or read through the whole meditation first, then take yourself through it by memory.
Let’s begin:
Close your eyes or rest your gaze gently about 2 feet in front of you.
Take a few deep breaths at your own pace, pausing briefly at the top of your inhale. Then, exhale with an open mouth and enough force to make a blowing sound through your lips (like slowly blowing out a candle).
Notice how your body feels as you do this.
Return to normal breathing. Savor the relaxation that begins to descend on your body.
Allow your shoulders to drop and rest. Enjoy the warmth behind your closed eyes.
Feel your breath move in and out, noticing how your chest rises and falls and how your lungs and throat feel as your breath enters and leaves your body. Follow the in and out with your awareness.
Bring your attention to how it feels to be inside THIS body, right now, in this space.
Your body holds you in an embrace in this space right now. How does it feel? What do you notice?
What pleasant sensations do you notice?
Notice the air around you. It supports your body with infinitesimal contact.
Where it touches you, there is energy. Feel into it. What do you notice?
Take a few relaxed breaths and enjoy this sensation.
Now, let’s imagine.
You’re in your favorite space for creating.
Take a minute to look around and experience it.
Where are you?
What is the temperature?
Is there a breeze, or is the air still?
What is the lighting like?
Are there smells around you? Nature smells, studio smells… smells unique to your creative space?
Now, imagine your journal.
Where is it? Is it in your hands? On your lap? On a table or the ground?
How big is it? What does the cover look like? What does the cover feel like? What kind of paper is inside? How does the paper feel? Take a minute to really explore it with your hands. Maybe even smell it.
Now, focus on your heart space. What are you feeling?
What primal mark can you make on your journal page related to this feeling?
What mark or paint color might begin to express your emotion?
Glance at your journal. The exact tool and material you need to make your first mark have appeared next to it.
Pick up the tool in your hand. Look at it and explore it with your fingers. Notice how it feels to hold it.
Now, use your tool to make your first mark. Watch it happen. Feel the sensation in your hand as it moves the tool over the page.
What physical sensations do you notice? What do you notice happening in your body? Do you feel emotions shifting?
Observe your first mark and ask yourself, “What’s next?” then add to it.
Repeat this again.
And again.
Let yourself get lost in this process. Watch your hands move as you create curiously and freely.
What are you feeling as you work this way?
Visualize yourself coming to the end of your composition.
You’ve made your primal mark, asked questions, experimented with new things, and put expression on the page.
Observe your journal page.
Now, either visualize yourself writing in your meditation or make notes on real paper as you start to transition back. Begin writing by finishing this sentence:
“When I create with curiosity and openness, I _________________.”
Give yourself at least five minutes to jot down whatever comes to mind.
Join me for INSPIRED - my journaling focused creative community.
Spring registration is currently open for the INSPIRED Creative Community.
It’s packed full of content that will spark your curiosity and motivate you to create on a mostly regular basis. We gather online, have fun, learn from each other, and enjoy the benefits of both creativity and community.
Early Bird pricing is available through April 30th, and then regular pricing is available through May 10th.
This year, the team and I built EXPLORE, a free 16-day trial that takes you through samples of everything INSPIRED offers. You can register here.
You’re welcome to register, though depending on when you sign up, you may not complete everything before registration closes. There’s good stuff there, though! You might just do it for pure enjoyment—wink, wink!
I know that’s a lot! If you’ve made it this far, I appreciate you, and I’d love it if you stuck around by subscribing to follow me here on Substack!