Art Journaling - My New Passion

During the past eight months my interest in art journaling has blossomed into a passion which I believe I was led to in order to help me through a very difficult time. I started journaling back in March. I had kept a journal off an on throughout my life but always ended up ripping out the pages and destroying them for fear of someone reading them. I no longer have that fear. The need to express myself has exceeded the fear. Along the the line I also started doodling in my journal, which led me to Zentangle, which was, and still is, a fascinating and very satisfying way to decorate my journal entries. From there I discovered art journaling, and have become hooked on the concept because it allows me to excavate my heart, mind and soul, combining many of my interests - journaling, doodling, painting, Zentangle, collage, photography, meditation and yoga. Yes, I said meditation and yoga. Believe it or not, art journaling can help clear and calm the mind, which makes it a form of meditation and, combined with intention and the breath, it is also yoga (not quite that simple, but it will do). Pretty cool, huh? 

OK....I'm not going to get all serious here. I just want to say that this blog will primarily cover what I'm currently involved in, and right now that's art journaling and all it entails. So if anyone's out there, I'll be posting at least weekly, and hopefully more often once things get going. In the meantime, I'll be posting photos of what I've been doing and learning more about blogging as well.   Here I'll start by posting photos of doodles and tangles - the first things I tried...and I loved it.  It's just so meditative and unrestrictive...and there are so many places you can go online to learn how to do them.  It doesn't take long at all!  Just Google "doodling" or "Zentangle" and a whole new world will open up.

I stuck a bunch of happy face stickers on this page and doodled around them - and Voila - a Happy Garden!