A peek in my art journal

I love art journalling. For me, it is a great way to give myself some creative time. I can be more free in my journal because it is just for me, I don't have to show anyone if I don't want to, and it does not ever have to be a finished product to be admired or sold.

A lot of my pages have never been seen by anyone other than me. Having said that, I'm happy to share some of them in journalling groups I belong to, usually when a page is a response to a certain theme. I also love seeing other people's pages and discussing different techniques, and I've found the online art journal community to be a wonderful, friendly place. Online sharing is a great way to encourage other people to have a go as well, so I plan on sharing some of my pages on my blog this year. Hopefully it might encourage any of you who want to begin an art journalling practice but don't know where to start!

There are loads of great online resources to help you get started. These are a few of my favourites.

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer - tips for getting started

Teesha Moore's 16 page journal (first in a series of videos)

Art Journal Wisdom, free course from Dirty Footprints Studio

Kristal Norton's free e-course Art Journaling 101

I also have a journal board on Pinterest which you can find here.

Starting 2016 with some art

Happy New Year! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and were able to celebrate exactly how you wanted to. We had a lovely time with family and plenty of good food and drink, walks along the coast, Little O enjoying her new rocking horse, a bit of festive telly (some still waiting for a chance to watch it on catch up- no Downton spoilers please!), and now I'm feeling ready to go and excited about the year ahead.

I really want to thank everyone who supported my charity art auction for the Boat Refugee Foundation. (To read the background of why I decided to set it up read this post.) We had over 30 donations of art works and courses and in total raised just over £2,300. It is a cause that is still very close to my heart and I will continue to try and support them in whatever ways I can throughout 2016.

I have signed up to Tamara Laporte's Life Book this year, which I am really looking forward to as a regular art practice. I did take the course a few years ago, and I thought it was brilliant, and excellent value for money, but I only dipped in and out of the lessons as I never seemed to find the time. I'm hoping I will be able to at least try most of them this year, but I know myself better than to make any promises!

This is the page I created from Tam's warm-up lesson. If you are also taking Life Book this year and are posting your work online anywhere then leave me a link in the comments and I'll come and say hello!

This was partly inspired by reading Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic, well worth a read if you haven't already! I think it is going to be my mantra for the year!