I started junk journaling in December last year, and I am IN LOVE! There is something so freeing about creating art in a junk journal — it invites experimentation and play, you don’t take yourself so seriously, and at the same time, you put more of yourself into the art. It’s — strange!
I never really thought I pressured myself in my art journal, but now I see that I approached my journals as Art. I took myself more seriously, by which I mean I was afraid to experiment, try new things, make messes, and play. I knew what worked, and I stuck to it.
Of course, sticking with something helps you build confidence and skills — until it doesn’t. At some point, if you become too afraid to take risks, you stagnate. That’s what I felt was happening with my art last year. Looking back at it now, I think that was one of the many factors that contributed my huge creative block last year, too.
Junk journal with me: Watch the process
The interesting thing is, some of my junk journaling is very similar to what I do in my art journals, as you can see in the video below.
But there’s a freshness to it, that comes from using collage, working with thinner papers {and different kinds of papers}, and the addition of words. I rarely add words to my art journal spreads, because I want the paintings to speak for themselves. But in my junk journals, I’ve been adding words — from found poetry to quotes to snippets of poems that I love or the feeling that the page evokes. And it’s rather refreshing!
I think there are other factors at play that make it so much more freeing to create in a junk journal. One of which is that I make my journals from literal junk — amazon envelopes, brown paper bags, printed bills, underpaper from my art table, random bits of painted scrappy paper. You can see all the bits and bobs that went into my junk journal here:
I think working with junk, like this, really takes away any pressure to perform. All that I spent to make this journal is my own time and effort. So even if I “ruin” it, it doesn’t matter. And that freedom is liberating. It encourages experimentation, play, trying new things, and combining new ideas with old ones, which is what creates freshness in your practice, no?
Before you go, tell me this: How do you keep your creative practice fresh?
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Weekly notes from an artist’s studio, including pages from my mixed media art journal, works in progress, notes on the creative process, and other ideas that capture my interest, along with regular discussion threads to chat about art.
Such a great idea! I’m going to try this out. Did you stitch it together or just use staples?
Neither! This is a fairly simple book binding technique using tape. 😀
Oh okay. Do you have a tutorial? 🙂
Nooo, I don’t…
Sounds and looks like fun, Shinj. 🙂
It is a lot of fun!
That’s so much fun! You’ve brought art, journaling, and junk under one umbrella, Shinjini. It’s relaxing to watch you junk journal. 🙂
So glad you enjoyed watching this, Vini!! I’m really loving how all this junk is slowly turning into treasure. I’ll be sure to share a flipthrough once the journal is full.
I love how you have put different pages together of different sizes. The outcome is so artistic and lively. Love your junk journal. So much freedom to express yourself.
It’s been really fun to play with different sizes of paper, and also different kinds of paper!
this is so interesting,yes i did see this on Instagram and wonder about it.
So glad found this interesting, Reena! I’ve really fallen in love with junk/art journaling this way.