Hi there! How's life? Things have been going well here and I've been diligently working on my Brené Brown art journal homework from the Oprah life class. Following along with the book has been truly life changing. The messages within have been resonating deeply with me as I become aware of my own issues with perfection, shame and self-worth - pretty heavy, I know. BUT so inspiring and refreshing at the same time! I've had several "ah-ha" moments that made me smile while other pages brought on the tears. One huge epiphany I experienced, was when I realized the cause of my recent creativity block. It wasn't because my creative juices ran dry or I ran out of inspiration...it was because I was focusing on attaining approval rather than just being authentic. I wasn't creating for me. I was creating for others and seeking praise. All of sudden, the likes on Facebook didn't make me feel good anymore, the hearts on Instagram didn't mean anything. I felt numb. So I stopped making art. Joy was replaced with doubt.  Understanding why this happened has brought me great clarity.

Working in my very first art journal has renewed my creativity and given me the chance to further digest the information in the book. I had promised to share some of the pages with you...so here they are...

I thought that the first assignment was very appropriate. That scary first white page was dedicated to giving yourself permission.

Next, we had to take pictures of ourselves with our "Pledge" written on our hand - "I'm imperfect and I'm ENOUGH!" Love that.

The class went on to explore the word - COURAGE and it's original meaning: to tell the story of who you are with your whole heart. Then we listed the people in our lives that we trust and share our story with. We placed this list in the center of our heart. I wrote the word "Thank You" on my list to remind myself to be eternally grateful to these special people.

Then we were assigned to find a photo that captures our "true self" and write about who we see, what makes this person light up and how we need to treat her. Loved how this exercise made me feel.

This last collage kinda just happened...the inside of the journal cover needed some art! :)

As I mentioned, I've never art journaled before and I'm really loving it! I'm getting a little braver with my materials and exploring new ways to blend words and images.

Have you ever kept an art journal? If you do, I would love to hear how you like to use it.

Hope your week is full of inspiration.

xo,

Ivy