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Calling all art journal makers! Share an inspiring prompt, enter to win a copy of Violette’s ‘Journal Bliss’ book
Okay, folks, now’s your chance to win a copy of “Journal Bliss: Creative Prompts to Unleash Your Inner Eccentric” by Violette. To enter, all you have to do is share your favorite art journaling or writing prompt in the comment section below. If the prompt is not your original idea, please credit your source with links. The deadline to enter is June 5, 2009. Good luck, everyone!
I’ll start you off with one of my favorite prompts, so grab your favorite pen and find a blank page in your notebook. Ready? Okay. Now make a list of happy childhood memories, as many as you can think of in the next 10 minutes. Working as fast as you can write down anything that triggers a good memory. Start with your favorite candy or cereal and work from there. What did you love to do when you were little? Where did you go? Did you have a favorite toy or book or teacher? Who did you enjoy spending time with?
It’s fine for your list to include responses ranging from one-word answers like “Cheerios” to phrases like “swimming at the city pool,” “picking dandelions for Mom,” “swinging on swings with my sisters at the park,” and “drinking Pepsi out of the glass bottle with Dad after mowing the lawn.” If you’re compelled to write complete sentences, that’s fine. But fragments and phrases will due.
The key is to work fast and try not to linger too long on any one memory. There will be plenty of time for that later. The point of this prompt is to trigger and record memories quickly, so you have a whole list of memories to develop into illustrated entries later. A single memory could be the subject of its own page.
I did this exercise in a class I just finished teaching here in West Michigan and discovered that even those who experienced difficult childhoods where able to make the most beautiful lists of positive memories. So, think back, and see where this prompt takes you.
Chances are some of the same things that made you happy then, will make you happy now. Hint, hint. : )
Okay, let’s hear your prompt ideas….
Posted: May 30th, 2009 under Art Journaling, Books, Contests, Giveaway.
Comments: 27
Comments
Comment from catina jane
Time: May 30, 2009, 11:39 pm
hi there! first off i recently found your podcast and i love it! i almost always listen to it while working on my art.
i have wanted to buy this book and i’d love a copy!
one of my favorite journal prompts is :
list out your frets and fears , give them room to say their peace and
then list the blessings that can be found in the things you fear.
i think every fear holds a lesson and a blessing inside and can lead you
into a beautiful freedom if you let it. when you set fears free and
get honest about them , freedom follows..
be blessed!
Comment from Zom Osborne
Time: May 31, 2009, 2:27 am
what I would do if I wasn’t afraid
Comment from Laure
Time: May 31, 2009, 6:31 am
One of my favorites is to pick out an object in the room. Start by vividly describing the item, then describe associations or events connected to the object. In essence, you are identifying your attachment to that item. Was it a gift, a souvenir from a trip or something utilitarian? This can also help identify items that are important in your life – and those that aren’t. It can help you de-clutter or illuminate strong attachments to things that you might not need.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Comment from kelli
Time: May 31, 2009, 8:04 am
I like to think about food… what is your favorite food? What about a special meal from your childhood?
Comment from Kristen
Time: May 31, 2009, 10:24 am
I’m a big fan of lists.
One of my favorite kick-start journal lists is things I’d do with $___. I usually start with $50,000 or so. The next step then is to take off a zero, so then what from that list would you do with $5,000. Then $500, then $50.
Its interesting to see how your priorities change based on how much cushion you have. The trick is to be honest with yourself, so you can get a better idea of your thoughts on value. (if you were donating most of the $50,000, are you still donating any money when you get to $500?)
I like to illustrate whats left, or whats most important, either with drawings or magazine cutouts.
This can be done in 5 minutes waiting for the bus or in a longer organized journaling session.
Thanks for the giveaway!
Comment from Laura
Time: May 31, 2009, 12:50 pm
I like to pick a place I’ve never been and imagine what I would do if I had today to spend there.
Comment from Catherine
Time: May 31, 2009, 1:06 pm
“If finances were not an issue, what is your dream vacation? Where would you go? What would you eat? Who would you meet? What would you see?”
Comment from Natalie
Time: May 31, 2009, 1:20 pm
“If you were putting together the soundtrack of your life, which songs would be on it?”
Comment from Kari
Time: May 31, 2009, 2:07 pm
I’m into making lists (of anything and everything) to clear the brain and free up some mental space for a creative project!
Comment from Sandy
Time: May 31, 2009, 4:15 pm
When I was in prison, I kept a journal/scrapbook/giant list. I wrote down inspirational quotations, glued in fun scraps of paper, concepts and ideas I wanted to remember. I could take those and add to the pages with pictures cut out of magazines, drawing, and painting. I also like making lists–favorites lists, memories lists, dreams lists.
Comment from Chelsea
Time: May 31, 2009, 5:32 pm
One fun prompt I love is “what were your favorite games as a child”. I love this one cause you get to reminisce and remember all the silly things you used to do. It’s also good so you can remember the games and teach them to your children.
Comment from dena miller
Time: May 31, 2009, 10:12 pm
MMMmmmm, let me see, well I sometimes like to listen to a song nd then imagine my self in that song or in a place listening to that song. I then create an entire story around that which usually includes my hubby and me in some beautiful fairytale.
Comment from Kitty
Time: May 31, 2009, 10:46 pm
For me the prompt are not the words, because I work with words all day (I’m a translator) and I hav to free my mind of them for journaling. For me the prompt is to go around the garden. Or, if the weather is not permitting, around the house, putting some order to the things. While I order the physical world around me, I make room in my mind for art … or for work.
Thanks for the chance with the giveaway :)
Comment from Raheli
Time: June 1, 2009, 5:24 am
I love Danny Gregory’s journaling prompts, they are for drawing with some note taking on the side. I think my favorite of favorites is “Draw everything you eat today” and “draw all of your shoes”
Comment from ellen
Time: June 1, 2009, 10:48 am
I jot down quotes from podcasts, ideas that fly through my head, or fragments of sentences I overhear and draw to suit them if it occurs to me to do so. I’m not great with drawing (working on that) but I do love not letting the funny or important things I hear disappear copmpletely.
Comment from jan olmstead
Time: June 1, 2009, 12:41 pm
I cut out pictures and words that appeal to me from old magazines and glue them into my journal. Then I write, glue or paint phrases that feel like they ‘go’ with the words or pics. Lately I’ve been drawn to pictures of chandeliers….there are tons of them in the ancient Architectural Digest magazines I got for ten cents each a few months back.
Also, when I not feeling particularly inspired, but want to work in my journal, I prepare pages for later writing. I paint or chalk backgrounds or do doodle borders with markers so when I am ready to write, my journal is ready for me.
Comment from manon
Time: June 3, 2009, 6:53 am
These days, the one thing I do comes from my 8yo daughter’s art class at school.
Start with a scribble… only lines traced on your sheet, any size, any curve; close your eyes if you feel the need to organize it “too much”.
Then, look at it and find a shape.
Add colours and details to complete the shape and make a design that makes sense to you. If this inspires some words and sentences, write them on your picture.
You can use your favourite medium but it is best to to the first scribbles with a pencil.
Now, enjoy the surprise!
Comment from Cathy Santarsiero
Time: June 3, 2009, 11:16 pm
Alas, I don’t have any clever journal prompts to share, but I did do your little exercise and you are so right! I was instantly transported back to all of the things I loved as a little girl. I may not use your tip for righting in a journal but I think it may inspire some of my paintings to go in those directions (not that they aren’t zany enough now!) Enjoy the rest of the week and thank you for Craftsanity! Love it love it. xo -CS ^..^
Comment from Cathy Santarsiero
Time: June 3, 2009, 11:18 pm
Did I write ‘righting’ instead of writing? Geez, that’s what I get for reading blogs at 2:00 AM instead of sleeping like a normal person. :)
Comment from Joyce
Time: June 4, 2009, 10:44 am
My favorite journalling activity came from reading the book “20 Wishes.” In it, the characters each make a list of 20 wishes. My sis and I did this on 20 tags (each) last summer. It’s amazing how writing things down somehow sets things in motion. Some wishes that I thought were “pie in the sky” have come true in the last year. hmmm, I need to write a post on this.
Comment from Mindy
Time: June 5, 2009, 5:20 am
A giveaway?! Awesome, thanks!! Well, I’m a self-improvement nut so I like to choose one thing from my day about my behaviour that I didn’t like or want to improve and write about that. I’ve revisited some surprising memories that way.
Comment from Laurpud
Time: June 5, 2009, 5:52 am
My journaling prompts are: What have you created today (how many stitches?) & How do you think that (insert something intricate here) is MADE?
Comment from Frances
Time: June 5, 2009, 6:25 am
I start my journal prompts with the word “Today” to keep me focused on the now and my present life. The past naturally comes through because it was part of my “today” yesterday. Stay in the present moment, breathe into the now, and let go onto the page.
Comment from Tayla B
Time: June 5, 2009, 8:27 pm
My favorite journal prompt would have to be making the extraordinary out of the mundane. Start off with a task or activity that you normally wouldn’t pay attention to (like brushing your teeth or doing the laundry) and try to make it as grand as possible using descriptive words and dramatic phrasing (think Shakespeare). Its fun to go back over what you have written and laugh about it. This exercise really helped me to pay attention to the little things and realize that everything can be interesting. Its just in the way you look at it.
Comment from Denise Bryant
Time: June 6, 2009, 5:43 pm
I love your idea of making a list of childhood memories…. I started to do that and my first couple of things are…
Lucky Charms (magically delicious)
picking sweet peas in my backyard
buying candy hats at the corner store
Fun! I just may start a list. I am not much of a journal-er but I love all sorts of paper arts. I might have to start a journal, using stamps and decorative papers and embellishments to accent the pages. The designs/colors/theme would get me started as my prompt.
Denise Bryant
Comment from JayeL
Time: June 12, 2009, 11:23 am
I post a creative prompt on my blog every Friday. I would love to have people join in. Please post links to your art or writing or creativity to the comments area of the prompt. You can read more about the project at: http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/aq-prompts/. You can see today’s prompt at: http://artquiltmaker.com/blog/2009/06/creative-prompt-18-moon/
Comment from trish
Time: October 2, 2009, 11:35 pm
One of the pages I’ve done (a couple times) is “things to do to feel better/happier” I like to look at them when having a bad day, helps to get me outta the funk:)
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