August 21st, 2025

AA

Art Journal As Creative Practice

There are many ways that visual artists use journaling as a means of capturing their thoughts, feelings, and observations in the world.  I will include resources, techniques, and journaling materials to fuel your own exploration here too.

Anyone who has gone through the exercises in Julia Cameron’s ‘The Artist’s Way,’ or her updated for retiree’s version, ‘It’s Never Too Late To Begin: Discovering Creativity and Meaning at Midlife and Beyond’ has likely added stream-of-consciousness daily journaling to their regular practice.

There are as many ways to do art journals as there are artists.  Art journaling can be an open-ended form of art in a bound journal or gathered loose pages where the focus is on the process of creating and of self-expression rather than a particular artwork. The fact that it is collected and documented in a book form can be very freeing, and implies the process is more important that completing particular artworks.

Art journals are a great place to work out ideas, express private emotions, develop visual business or career plans, create personal visions for your future, record travel or get in touch with nature.  I do all-of-the-above.  I teach workshops about nature and travel journaling occasionally too.

Artist Journals often combine text, imagery, found materials and expressive color.  Some are more words than images, some are made up of all images.  Mixed-media, drawing, mark-making, writing, painting, and collage can all be components.
 

Working in an art journal is, for me, is a form of creative self-expression that I find energizing.  I appreciate that there are no defined rules.  I love the ability to combine and explore materials, ideas and techniques!  I also find it interesting to look back and discover where the first ideas for current series of work may have started.  I sometimes find the seeds of an idea a decade earlier in the center of some other exploration I was focused on at the time.

I like to maintain a regular art practice so some of my art journals emerged as a way to carry on my artwork in my travels.  It is so much more satisfying to me to look back at images I drew or painted than photos (though I take my photos too and sometimes work from them).  The reason I love nature and  travel journaling so much is that with the practice  I give myself permission to sit in one place and soak up the sounds, smells, and images for a longer period of time, rather than dashing through without really observing where I am.

For me it was the travel journaling that led to doing regular nature journaling.  Sometimes when we are camping our way somewhere they are one and the same. 
 
I invite you to give art journaling a try.  There are lots of art guides out there that can help you get started.  If you would like to try your hand at nature and travel journaling, check out my upcoming workshop at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison Wisconsin. 

(Register by August 22, 2025)
https://www.olbrich.org/calendar/watercolor-nature-journaling-with-helen-klebesadel-2
You can learn more about it here:

Sat, Aug 23, - 24, 2025 10:00 am-4:00PM
Watercolor Nature Journaling with Helen Klebesadel
Join us in this two-day watercolor workshop for painters with some experience. Designed for artists interested in Nature Journaling and/or creating travel journals using watercolors and mixed media. This workshop will present several approaches to journaling with watercolors and other media. Build upon the skills you have acquired while using Olbrich Gardens to practice your journaling skills. See registration page for list of required supplies.
Instructor: Helen Klebesadel, Helen Klebesadel Art
 

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