Do you keep a sketchbook, travel journal, or visual journal? I used to keep visual journals religiously. For years, I'd document my days - even when things didn't seem interesting, the ordinary became a spectacle. Mostly I drew food, places I went, conversations I had, visits with friends. Simple things. I worked in Micron pen - sometimes adding marker. I'm not sure if it was covid, or that I was just bored of drawing, but the practice became quite sparse after moving to Japan. (In hindsight I'm furious with myself for not making it a daily practice there - so many little moments lost to time). Visually journaling helped keep me grounded and connected to myself and to fill that void, I started meditating and writing morning pages - which has been huge in my mental health - but I miss drawing my days! I miss connecting to my thoughts in a creative and visual way. What’s better is now going through them and recounting all the details of my life I would have undoubtedly lost. Here are a couple pages from my journals of yesteryear.

Smithereens: [smith -uh-reenz] Plural Noun. 1. Small pieces, bits. Smithereens are tiny pieces, fragments of a larger thing. In this series of blog posts, I share small slivers of my process, thoughts on materials, and insights into the larger world of illustration. These last couple of months found me at an all time low. You might remember me sharing what was quite possibly the worst burnout I'd ever faced. I still can't say with certainty that it's over, but what I can say is that despite feeling a complete aversion to drawing, I did not give up visual journaling. I started consistently journaling last year, partly due to personal situations, but also, it was the only act of creating that I felt was mine. I didn't have to share it, in fact I planned on never sharing it. Don't get me wrong, sharing my work with anyone who wants to see it is one of the most rewarding and uplifting things about making art. But with it, also comes sort of an unspoken constraint. We feel we must constantly share for fear of falling behind, or worse, being forgotten. And when everything is on display, that tiny sacred spark can feel vulnerable and out in the open. That spark can even go out.

In   2013 I purchased this beautiful blank, and pristine  Record Book... since it was in perfect shape,  I decided that I could fit  a couple of years worth of spreads  between the covers.. detail of front cover art journal, Caterina Giglio and so this is the journal that I have been working on each month... finished  finally... I had originally thought I would paint a scene on the black front cover ... primarily because it was paint splattered and I thought too messy to leave flat black,  but most of the spots cleared up with a cleaning... and I decided I liked the  classic black and red... Antique record journal, 2013-2015 art journal, Caterina Giglio  I had the stencils in my stash and  they seemed to sum up the  journey of the last few years.. quite well... I also loved the black paint, left on the stencils that  mirrored the layers inside...  ingredients: watercolor, French paper ephemera, personal photo, pencil and ink... January 2015 Self Portrait, Caterina Giglio My annual self portrait above and below my love letter to myself... you will be seeing the new 2016 versions soon enough... keeping traditions is so important, in life as well as work.. for me, anyway.... ingredients: acrylic paints, lumiere paint, old photo mat, antique ephemera, lace, paint pens, chalk paint  Ingredients: acrylic paint, gesso, paper ephemera, transparency, pencil, ink, walnut ink... ingredients: copy from old photos, paper ephemera, black gesso, china marker, tissue paper, thread, pencil... ingredients: personal photos used for transfers on paper, pencil, acrylic paint, paper ephemera, wrapping papers, ink.. ingredients: transfers on paper with gesso, paper ephemera, pencil, acrylic paint, grey paint pen... ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, various papers, pencil, stencils on tissue paper.. ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, paper ephemera, personal drawings and family photos used as transfers, tissue papers and wrapping paper.. ingredients: gesso, paint, ripped papers, antique paper ephemera, old photo frame, drawing, marbled papers, torn cardboard, pencil... ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, drawing on tracing papers, paint pens, pencil.. ingredients: acrylic paint, gesso, pencil, paint pens, drawing on antique parchment paper, paper ephemera, pencil, ink.. ingredients: gesso, acrylic paint, paper ephemera, tissue papers, old prints, pencil, pen and wrapping papers... Seeing all the spreads together brings back so many memories... each month is so different and I have a visual record of not only what happened.. but how I felt about it... death, life, journeys, reunions, and love... always love... xo

Feeling stuck with your visual journal? I've got a bunch of fresh ideas and 50 MORE prompts to jump-start your creativity. Click through to get inspired!

Here's the visual journal page I did today. I went for such a long stretch of not being able to work in my journal, that it feels really good to get back to it.

"Whispers of Truth" ~ from the Book of Dreams journal mixed media started as a demo for the Savage Mirror workshop I taught earlier this month at Art Unraveled in AZ

Explore Anna Denise's 1786 photos on Flickr!

I've been journaling in Pilgrim on a regular basis since the beginning of the year. When April started I realized tha...

Pick up a brush and put down your worries with these 20 art therapy activities that you can try at home, today.

A blog about art and life

An introduction to art journaling featuring a video of some of my art journaling pages.

This article is part of my FREE e-course Art Journaling 101 - which has been designed to gently introduce beginners to the basics of art journaling so you can find your way with more ease and less fear. If you're curious about art journaling or overwhelmed with how to begin, sign up for the full free course HERE. Art journals

For those that love art making and writing, art journals are a great way to express their inner selves. Check out art journal prompts and supplies here!

Cernuda Arte

My focus word this year is BE.  Every year I choose a word that really has pushed my limits.  This year I really wanted to keep it simple ...

Time and time again, I find myself coming back to this little journal when I feel stuck or just don't know where to start. My studio can feel overwhelming with all the possibilities, but this small journal has been a lifesaver. It's a compact size, making it easy to feel accomplished with a quick wi

I am really learning alot from Julie's "30 Days In Your Journal" class! One of the biggest things I am learning is the art of building a pa...

EDITORIAL | Ana Strumpf