Happy Rainbows + Journal It! Review
Mon, November 19, 2012 at 11:47AM 
Moleskine A4 watercolor journal, pencil, watercolors.
Little rainbows of happy energy on the page.
My art for DAY 19 of Art Every Day Month.
November is Art Every Day Month (AEDM) facilitated by Leah of Creative Every Day.
In a stroke of good luck, I received a review copy of Journal It!
by Jenny Doh
Jenny {creator of Crescendoh} shares an abundance of creativity on her site each day, and I especially love her yummy freestyle stitching.
The book is a collection of ideas and artwork from a bunch of journalists, including Roben-Marie Smith, Zom Osborne, Anna-Maria Wolniak + Julie Balzer. I hope that we continue to see books about creative journaling and art journaling: how-to books, idea books, books with pretty pages in various styles, introductory books, coffee table books, enough books to spread the word about art and artful journaling.
One of the BEST thing about art books is that creative spark you get from seeing something new, or something juxtaposed with something else. Something triggers an idea or sparks a new experiment or plants a seed in my mind that later blossoms into an idea. It is not that I want to do that exact thing - I want to do something different. But a trigger.
For example, in Journal It! several artists share journal pages created with watercolors. I love to watercolor but I've been using only acrylics in the book I'm altering. And I haven't used watercolors on an art journal page in years. It all went together just like that in my mind, and I pulled out the watercolors before I even finished the book!
"I like to work in layers, and rarely sit down and complete a page from start to finish. If I do, I tend not to like it that much."
Julie Fei-Fan Balzer
This quote really speaks to me. I work in this way too, working not only in layers but on various days often months apart. And I like working in this way because I think that each time I come to the table, so to speak, I bring something different. One day it's doodled rainbows and a quote from Rumi. Another day it's messy teal paint with smudges of titan buff. And yet another day it's clippings from an italian magazine or a map of Alaska.
I enjoyed this book!
The variety of perspectives on artistic + creative journaling, the ideas and tidbits that each artist shares. It's a book of inspiring, funky + beautiful journal pages and a bit of how-to to spark ideas for your own journal. The photography is perfect, and there are lots of colorful detail shots of journal pages to inspire your creativity.
Reader Comments (4)
Wow, such a group! Sounds like a fabulous book. Inspiration is everywhere... xx
I love watercolors too! I have to convince myself that paint is okay in my art journal. It just takes so long to dry.... or at least that is what my brain tells me.
I'd love to read this book! I work in stages also, going back to pages I started weeks ago. Glad I found your blog! Coffee soon? :)
Thanks so much for your review and I am so glad you enjoyed the book! :)