My Book of Days

About a year ago, I began my first art journal, my "Book of Days". And about the same time, I created my first artist book, my "Little Book of Whispers". It was a time in my life when going into the studio felt daunting. The world had gone a bit crazy and I needed some more intimate art forms to process the feelings and start playing again.

Books and journal called to me.

My Little book of Whispers was a wonderful project to create and led me back home to art-making (more on this HERE), while my art journal slowly became a faithful friend, month after month. I've shared some of its pages on Instagram over time but I have never shared it here in my online home... now is the time!

“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.”

— Beatrix Potter

My little travel kit to take my journal anywhere...

One of the great things about keeping a journal, is that you can revisit its pages after a while and they will not tell you the same story. So over the next weeks/months, I'm going to share some of them here on the blog. I'm curious to see if they will spark new emotions and ideas. And to begin with, today I want to share the spread I'm working on at the moment. It is still a work in progress...

I've always been a lover of books. I studied literature way before I found out I was an artist. The words, the paper, the stories... I've always incorporated them into my art, but for a long time, working in a journal felt scary. I had such resistance towards it, which of course means I had such a desire for it.

Making my books from scratch, choosing the paper, making signatures, binding, stitching (not too precisely I'll admit) has been one of the joys of the process. It felt like getting intimate with the books at a deeper level. I'm not sure I'd be able to express myself as freely in a ready-made book.

The poppy is from a print of one of my early paintings. I love to reuse bits and pieces of previous works in my journal and even my paintings. I love the connections it creates between the works.

Layers of thoughts and emotion, hopes and pain, spilling out with no plan in mind, nothing at stake. Sometimes I resist working in my journal for weeks, then suddenly I let go and come home to it with relief. My journal has become a faithful friend, even when I neglect it. Feeling grateful for the way it holds space for me and for whatever needs to come out, the beauty, the mess and anything in between.

I'm not sure what will unfold on this page next, as I'm listening to the whispers of my soul, writing, creating... and trusting.

Do you keep an art journal too? What do you love most about it? Or if you've always wanted to, what is keeping you from trying? Please share your thoughts in a comment below!