How to Challenge Yourself in Your Art Journal

Preventing art journals from becoming to monotonous can be a challenge, particularly when artists are finding it difficult to stay inspired or ward of artist’s block. This challenge is meant to break artists out of their comfort zones, help them think outside the box, allow them to use up old materials and embrace their creative selves.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• art journal
• sharpies
• paint chip samples
• old magazine
• book pages
• adhesive
• paper scraps (can be torn, or cut-out's)
• random clip art or postcard images

1. Open the magazine up twice, each time to a random page. Don't flip through and select particular pages. Tear out each random page and glue them to the pages of the art journal spread.
2. Add two random book pages to the spread. They can be placed symmetrical, at random or juxtaposed. However looks best with the random magazine pages.
3. Layer the postcards (or clip art images) over the book pages and magazine pages. A theme might be developing by mistake, either by design methods or composition.
4. Layer the paint chips samples and paper scraps last. Using the sharpies, add text relating to the pages. This text can depict the artist's rendering of the composition, the experience of working with random art supplies or a journaling of some kind.

Tips & Warnings

• Doodle around any empty spaces there might be, as well.
• Quotations work well if other text can't be thought of off hand.
• Be sure to use a strong adhesive.
• Avoid using the sharpies until the adhesive is dry in order to prevent bleeding.