Art Journaling When You Feel Sad

Dear Wonderful, Creative Y'all:

One of the questions I become asked most is how to art journal when y'all feel sad. My art journal has been a slap-up source of condolement and self-understanding for years. I'm blessed to be able to share my techniques here. I'g hoping this postal service will help get y'all started when y'all want to art it out in your journal, but you lot're not sure how. Even if you've never made art, or never thought about making expressive art, I want to assure you h umans are uniquely creative beings. We have been using the arts to process our feelings, and mark important moments in our lives since the get-go of time. Fine art equally a coping tool belongs to me, to you lot, and to us all.

As an art therapist, I'thou lucky to accept a lot of training in how to use art for self-expression and healing. While I no longer practice art therapy, I withal apply fine art to help myself feel better, and I love pedagogy these age-old techniques to others as well.

Fine art Journal Your Feelings TIP #1: Process OVER PRODUCT

One of the blessings of my fine art therapy grooming was learning to focus on art process over production. Of course I know you are art journaling because you'd like to make art, but getting overly focused on it can tighten yous upwardly and ensure that you won't express your feelings or make annihilation you similar. That's a lose-lose.

As many artists know, the more you lot create, the more yous open up up space for exploration through your art materials, the more than the process of art making becomes a balm to your soul. Funny enough, the more you do this the more your product improves too. It'due south weird the way that works, isn't it? That's a win-win.

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Fine art Periodical Your Feelings TIP #two: Piece of work IN LAYERS

The other affair I've constitute that actually helps me to loosen upwardly, create, and limited myself is working in layers. I find layers give me lots of permission to make mistakes, try out new things, and not have to know what the finished production volition exist. This helps me limited myself. When I art periodical because I'thou feeling downward, I don't want to have to remember as well much, so I'd like to share a sort of art making formula that has helped me. Yous can utilize some of it or all of it, depending on what feels good to you.

Art Journal LAYER i: Write Nigh Why Yous Experience Sad

You tin approach this in many different ways. Art journaling when you feel lamentable is a super flexible activeness. Hither'due south some ideas for writing when you feel distressing:

• Write a alphabetic character you'll never ship. This helps me analyze my feelings and get them out.
• Describe how feeling sad makes y'all feel in your trunk.
• Create a poem about feeling pitiful.
• Honor your sadness: "Talk" to sadness as though information technology were a person. Accolade it. Give information technology some room to speak back to you, perhaps fifty-fifty in a dialogue you write in your periodical.
• Sarcasm: Have a mock conversation with someone and exist as sarcastic equally you wish!
• Imagery: Describe, with words, the images that come to you lot when you experience this manner.
• Flip the tabular array: Write almost how you wish you were feeling right now.
• Muffle your feelings: Write over and over your own writing until you lot can't read it. This helps create texture on your page, in your own unique handwriting mode. I detect this very cathartic too.
• Reveal your feelings: Write in white gel pen on a white page, and then pigment over it with high flow acrylic pigment. Some colors also encompass the writing more than others. This is a fun "magic writing" technique you can utilize either to reveal or hide your writing.

Art Journal LAYER 2: Paint Your Feelings

With this side by side layer, we movement grade words and texture on the page to flowing paint. Fine art journaling when you feel sad gives you lot opportunities in paint to use the colors to limited how you currently feel, or how you want to feel.

For me personally, I find I often need to shift to expressing what I desire to experience, or I end upwards wallowing in negativity. You will demand to be your own all-time judge of what helps yous. In that location'southward no right or wrong in self-expression. In that location are no rules, merely practice what feels right to you. Hither are some options for the painting your feelings layer:

• Paint with brushes, sticks, kitchen tools, rocks, shells, or plastic wrap
• Finger painting for adults: Put on gloves and push and pull paints with your hands
• Utilize colors that express your sadness, or colors that express how you want to feel
• Create a grid over your writing and pigment each one a slightly different colour
• Pigment a repetitive design over your words
• Black page, white stars: Paint your page black, and so use gel pens to create a galaxy of white stars.
• Take my class, Art Journaling 101 for more than guided lessons on using art and writing in transformative means.

Art Journal LAYER 3: Transform Your Feelings

• Write out a poem that expresses what you'd like to experience. I love Rilke and Mary Oliver. What about you?
• Write promise, love, or joy in block letters. Then write within nearly what gives y'all hope, love, or joy.
• Gratitude journaling: Write in block letters something you are grateful for, and then write near why in a circle going effectually your letters.
• Fold your own envelope, paste it to the page, and put a alphabetic character inside to someone y'all dear.
• Creative writing: Write a story or poem most what you wish was happening right now.
• Use a script liner brush and paint to write downwardly a bulletin of encouragement.

ART Journal LAYER iv: DRAWING LAYER: SLOW Downwardly

I also like the invitation to slow down and observe something closely plenty to draw it. Fifty-fifty when my cartoon is kind of wonky, I try to comprehend the practise in the moment.

I besides REALLY detect the repetition of drawing patterns soothing. This frequently helps me feel ameliorate. Here are some ideas for your cartoon layer:

• Draw an beast that symbolizes protection, freedom, or strength for y'all. Y'all tin can depict it cartoony or realistic. I like to notice a photograph and piece of work from that since I'g not good at brining the image clearly enough in my listen.
• Draw a repetitive pattern with a paint marker, gel pen, or brush. Use dots, circles, dashes, or wiggly lines. Imitate something in nature or brand up your own based on what feels good to your manus. On light backgrounds, you can use a Micron pen too.
• Utilise a photo to draw someone yous love. You lot can also paste it into your journal if you prefer not to draw.
• Illustrate a place that makes y'all feel happy.
• Be sure yous are on my mailing list for more art journaling ideas and inspiration!

Call back, I'm sharing ways I utilise my art periodical in my own life to feel better. This isn't art therapy, and in no way should be seen equally mental wellness treatment or advice. If you are facing overwhelming feelings or mental wellness struggles, I promise you award your pain by getting the back up you lot deserve. If art therapy feels like the right option for you, you tin can find a local art therapist here.

Creatively Yours,

Amy

The links shared in this post are chapter links. That means if you choose to purchase something later on clicking the link, at no actress cost to you, you will back up the work of Mindful Fine art Studio to empower the artist in everyone. Cheers!

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