This week I’ve shifted focus a little in my journal as I’ve pared down the materials that I’ve been working with as I explore ideas for a new online workshop. I think that we often get caught up in the materials that we have and use, and the journaling practice can get overwhelmed with choices of materials and techniques drawing attention and focus away from meaning, ideas, and creativity. But what do we really need in order to have a rich visual journaling practice?
With this new online workshop, I want to explore that idea and delve into the possibilities of limiting the materials that we really need in order to create deeply authentic pages while at the same time pushing our creativity. I am reminded of a quote by psychologist Rollo May, “Creativity... requires limits, for the creative act rises out of the struggle of human beings with and against that which limits them.” We don’t need a stocked studio to be creative or to carry on a deep journal practice. We just need a few materials, some tried and true techniques, and the courage to go deep within.
I’m thinking of calling the workshop The Journal Stripped Bare, and it’s loosely based on an in-person workshop David and I taught a few years ago. But this new workshop will be much more encompassing, and will include techniques and ideas for using a limited amount of supplies while diving deep with ideas, themes, and personal concepts. So, I focused on using only a few materials this week — mostly water-soluble graphite and ink, as I began some initial explorations.
I’m excited to delve into these ideas deeper to see what I can discover, and to see if I can turn them into a viable workshop. Here’s to limitations and pushing our creativity.