art journaling and recovery

My art journals are visual snapshots of my thoughts and ideas. What I love about the journaling practice is that there aren’t any rules. I can mix watercolor, acrylic, and ink anyway I like. Often times, I incorporate inspirations from magazines, scrapbooking paper, stencils, even small trinkets and incorporate them into my pages.

If I’m not feeling up to freestyle journaling, there are all types of artists and tutorials that you can find by searching YouTube. Simply type in art journaling tutorial into your YouTube search bar and find great inspiration.

As a young adult I enjoyed drawing, journaling and painting. But after I joined the workforce and started adulting, my free-time creativity to a backseat. I’ve had a creative job for many years in my graphic design and marketing profession, but I wasn’t creating for me. When I first got sober, I discovered that I had so much more time. Especially in the evenings once wine o’clock rolled around. I found it hard to sit still and watch tv shows and my dog got real tired of taking hour-long+ walks. So, I started dabbling with some art projects. I found that art journaling was a simple way to accomplish several things: it relaxed me, it took me out of my thoughts and worries and time seemed to glide by. Also, it felt very private and safe - I could record what I was going through visually and while you could maybe tell my mood from the pages, the specific concerns or whatever I was working through on the page weren’t explicit. Plus, since it’d been over twenty years since I’d picked up a paint brush, it felt less intimidating than a huge blank canvas that could feel more overwhelming than a 6” x 8” page.

If you think you’d like to incoporparte art journaling into your recovery, a few of my coaching packages include a session or two led by me and I’ll send you the necessary supplies. Or, if you’d just like to chat about how I use my journal and ideas to get you started, drop me a line!