This week I wanted to start up the art journaling. You will need a sketch journal for mixed media any size, glue, some watercolors, regular ballpoint pen, pencil and crayons. You can always add to this supply list for yourself of course.

Self Discovery

Let’s start with self discovery. When we want to understand ourselves, we can really learn a lot from our own writings and thought processes. We can also use questions to help prompt our discovery.

Questions First

Questions are where I’d like to begin.

Question # 1: What negative names, thoughts or feelings about yourself did you have as a child? Most of the time, other people caused us to think this way about ourselves. It could have been anyone, family, schoolmates, bullies, etc. I want you to begin to understand where your self identity comes from.

Use this question as a prompt for the first journal entry. We will use a bit of mixed media for this.

supplies needed:

paper

crayons or watercolor

pens

glue

Take some paper and rip it into strips that will fit into your sketchbook. Write on these strips three negative thoughts, names or feeling you have had about yourself or from others.

Now take each strip and tear it in half. Now you have six strips. On the blank side of each strip, write two positive opposites of the negative word. For example the positive for failure would be successful.

Glue down your new strip with the positive word on it anywhere on your page. Begin drawing patterns and shapes you enjoy around these positive words and fill them in with color using watercolor or crayons.

This entire exercise is to show you the building blocks of your self worth and what has shaped the negative place in you. In writing the positive opposite word and embellishing it, you are learning to change your negative thoughts toward yourself.

I hope you enjoyed this first entry. Feel free to embellish more with drawings or write more of your feelings down about your process. Any questions? Shoot me an email at lauram@beaut4ashes.com.

Have a beauty filled day!