Learning As I Go

The Early Years of Art Journaling

Today I sat and looked through the stacks of art journals and notebooks growing on my little stand. Some of which haven't been opened in 6 months or so. Memories came back looking at some as they hold so much emotions. Each page has a story or theme of their own. I explored a lot in my early journals and made plenty of mistakes. Countless hours were spend on YouTube and art blogs watching and learning. Doodling was something that I did all through high school and never would have thought it would be incorporated or a big part of art journaling.

Rewind to almost 5 years later, May 2011. After a year of exploring and making gawd awful but beautiful pages I decided to upload my first video. Not sure how many times I watched the video before I hit the upload button. This was going to be it, the whole world will watch, they are all getting a glimpse into my life. (Eek!) After some thought, I clicked the button. Here it is for you to watch and hopefully get inspired. 

After last weeks revisit with working with magazine clippings I got to thinking about the early years. At that time my crafting supplies were very limited. Gesso was a foreign word to me as was mod podge. Never knew watercolor crayons were magic and that PITT pens would be my favorite writing tool/marker. Everything was so new and interesting! I wanted every color of paint, tools and stencil that existed. It was crazy. I remember making my first trips to Michael's to buy inexpensive acrylic paint (which I still use), brushes, stencils, gel pens and a sketch book. Magazines were within arms reach and junk mail with fun images were kept for later use. Coffee sleeves were my favorite. I still keep some in my stash to use as a stencil or for added texture.

That moment I discovered and started art journaling was like reaching the top of a hill and on the other side a valley of green trees and blooming flowers beamed back at me. I found what made my heart sing. It was then that I decided art journaling was going to be apart of my life. Years later here I am, started a blog, making greeting cards, and painting big when I crave to throw paint. I hope that this inspires you to pick up a sketchbook and get journaling. Check back soon for the journal flip of my very first art journal!

Learn as you go.

xo-Starlynn