Art Journaling An Hour For Whatever

This week's Positively Creative Art Journaling question was what would you do with one hour to do whatever you wanted wherever you wanted to do it? I admit I thought long and hard about this all week. Of the things that I could do in an hour, most were the sorts of things I already do or really could do if I just set the time aside. It's not like my days are so full of commitments like they were when I had a paying job and my husband and parents were alive. I can pretty much do what I want when I want, as long as I keep the bills paid,the laundry washed, the frig and pantry stocked, and the house relatively picked up and clean.

And yet, I could come up with a litany of things I'd like to do but never get around to doing. Like picking from the purse and tote patterns I've bought or pulled from magazines and making one or two. Or seeing if I can make a coiled basket from one of the two It's A Wrap books on my shelf. Why can't I set just an hour aside for either of these? Once the weather gets nice, I'll be thinking about taking hikes or spending some time at city beach just reading or sketching. But I'm guessing I'll have to fight the guilt to get me out the door.  That's when it came to me: what I'd really like to do for an hour, what would make me happy and fulfilled, would be to do any of a number of inconsequential things without feeling guilty about it.

I'm not sure this is what Dale Anne had in mind with this question. It doesn't sound very deep or profound wishing for an hour to make handbags. But it is true that I carry a lot of needless guilt around (and I thank my mother for that), spoiling what pleasure I might get out of doing something just for the fun of it. By pondering this question, thinking I had no answer for it, I did happen upon a truth. And that's what journaling of any kind is about. Or as Dale Anne says, "Art Journaling is like personal therapy!" Guess I'll have to block out an hour this coming week for some guilt-free pleasure.

As far as my spread, violet then white paint were scraped down each side with a credit card. It went better than the first time I tried that method, even though the left side came out darker than the right - more paint squeezed along the top of one page than the other? Not a lot of planning for the text which was added after gluing down images from magazines (on the right) and scanning and printing the basket images from the book (on the left). Kind of hit and miss and adding enhancements as I printed the questions and answer and then journaled in the empty spaces. Not the prettiest page but it will be a good reminder for me.

Dale Anne wrote this week how she got into journaling and how it has changed her life. It's a remarkable story and helps me understand better her reason for the way she's put together these exercises. It really is more about the journaling than about the art technique. You can read it here.