journaling

What is Creative Energy Journaling?
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What is Creative Energy Journaling?

So many of us are over-busy, stressed and fully occupied with just getting a few more things crossed off our to-do lists. Deep down, we know we need a way to keep our thinking creative and flexible. We need a way to recharge and get back in touch with our dreams. But we get stuck on the “not enough time/space/skill” stumbling blocks. Creative Energy Journaling is a collection of the activities and practices I use and share with my students to keep my creative energy flowing even when life is biting me in the butt!

Plein Air Painting for Everyone
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Plein Air Painting for Everyone

For those who aren’t familiar with the phrase, painting en plein air is just a fancy way of referring to painting on location, usually outdoors. It’s a challenge! In addition to all the usual problems a painter has to solve (composition, color mixing, brush handling, etc.), there is the constantly changing light, the sun, rain and wind,…

The Mighty Tiny Matchbook Journal (and Other Ways to Avoid the Mistakes that Keep You from Journaling!)
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The Mighty Tiny Matchbook Journal (and Other Ways to Avoid the Mistakes that Keep You from Journaling!)

I’ve heard the lament from quite a number of you: you bought a lovely journal, and you think the activities I’ve been posting look really fun and interesting, but you are too busy to journal right now. Maybe later, when life calms down a bit . . . I feel your pain! I don’t know about…

Geometric “Self-Portraits”
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Geometric “Self-Portraits”

Artists have created self-portraits for ages, probably more for what the artists discover about themselves than as a way to create a likeness to show to the world. As with most things in Creative Energy Journaling, this activity is design to give you some of the benefits of the exercise of creating a self-portrait, without having to know how to draw or paint, and without spending hours and hours staring into a mirror.

Be a (Mindful) Tourist in Your Own Town
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Be a (Mindful) Tourist in Your Own Town

A great way to practice mindfulness and open your eyes to the world you live in every day is to play “tourist” in your own town.  Often artists keep sketchbooks not so much to accumulate sketches as to provide a way to focus their attention on the overlooked interest and beauty in their everyday lives….