Small Journal: Number 1

I was reflecting on my first art journal and thinking about what was working and what was not working for me. Where my frustrations were greatest, and where the creativity seemed to flow more easily. Flash of insight: the frustrations arose when I tried to exert to much control over my own creative process.

I think maybe some of you understand what I mean…intuitively I wanted to do one thing and then the control-freak part of my brain would jump in and say “Oh, no! That won’t do. That will never work, look terrible, be a mess blah, blah, blah…” and I would alter course. Sometimes, I ended up right where I wanted to be anyway, but often I ended up with something that I just didn’t know what to do with, or was not happy with in the end. And very often (another insight) the frustration was not with the end product itself, but with the fact that the process did not feel “right.” There was no satisfaction in it.

My new journal (a more diminutive 5 X 8 inch book) is dedicated solely to playing, following instinct, and making a big mess. It’s about the journey of creating, and not the destination of a finished page. I dedicate this first page to Ephemeral Gecko whose recent “day in a page” posts on satisfying the artistic wants of her inner kid got me thinking about my own process.