Art Journaling to Become Grounded and Resilient

This is the third blog post of a three part series about art, nature, and wellbeing. Check out my blog posts on music and poetry.

I’ve never really considered myself a traditional artist. In my mind, artists see blank pages and know what to do with them. I tend to stare at them before putting down my pencil and picking up my phone. Because I have a hard time creating from nothing, I didn’t do much art for the first twenty years of my life. 

Luckily, I discovered collages and art journaling. With this medium, I start with existing words, images, and colors. Then I figure out how to combine them in visually pleasing ways. I find it relaxing to turn off my phone and instead take inspiration from whatever I have on hand. It’s a chance to slow down and be with myself. Using physical materials grounds me in reality. For me, art journaling is a hobby and a form of self care. 

I’ve reused calendars, magazines, brochures, and construction paper to create page spreads based on The Resilient Activist’s Five Essentials for a Resilient World. I used this art journaling as an opportunity to remind myself that I should implement the Five Essentials in my life.