Visual Journaling in my Friday Studio

/ moragnoffke

 “Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” – Desmond Tutu

I have covered the topic of journaling here and visual journaling here previously  Visual journaling is a wonderful way to express thoughts and feelings in an un-judgemental way without the inner voices critically chattering on. We just need a welcoming voice that says:

 ‘Yes my beautiful person, show me what’s on your heart – anything. All your energies are welcome.’

Once I have finished my image I allow myself time to sit with it and listen — pondering and receiving, either, some way forward, illumination or comfort.

Topic for today: my heart aches and seeks the light through art, reflection and prayer

I spent yesterday and today in my studio creating a drawing in response to what I was feeling.  This is not experimental art, although you could say it is chance art because I allow myself time and space to flow. It is unplanned. And it is not fine art although you could say it is a fine way to engage the heart and hands. I think of it as Response Art (my term for the art I describe here). I think it is similar, in a way, to Julia Cameron’s morning pages which she talks about in the Artist’s Way, pages 9 to 18. She suggests writing three pages or 15 minutes about anything and everything; write straight from the heart without censorship to recover ones creativity — And she says there is no wrong way of doing them. What I refer to as the critical inner voices she calls the Censor. She also says that morning pages are a map of our interior.

When I studied healing through art in psychology we were encouraged to draw every day as an expression of the soul. No doubt that was the Jungian influence. I engage in morning pages and drawings when I feel the need. I draw in response to what my heart feels which becomes a record of my emotions, asking myself ‘what do I feel?’ or in this case ‘what might my soul need?’ I think of the exercise as a reflection or prayer.

I get easily overwhelmed by the bad news of the world and feel bogged down by the thought that mankind (womankind too) can be so brutal, vicious, wicked, cruel and downright atrocious.  I could rant about this but the problem is I will land up in a melancholy heap so I try to focus on whatsoever things are true, honest,  just, pure, lovely, and whatsoever things are of good report; virtuous, and praiseworthy. (I have changed the wording a bit but the idea comes from the Bible, Philippians 4:8)

My Response Art method

I describe my method in the present tense; and finally I look at the image.
What does it say? What does it remind me of?

My sketch book is open at two blank pages and I hold me pen. I start at the right-hand side page and draw loops around the two pages. I’m not sure where this is taking me but I trust the process and have a curious mind. I think to myself:

The loops look soft, just how I wish the world to be…

I draw undulations like hills symbolizing the earth, and then I fill the gaps with flowers and leaves just because I feel like it. I decide it needs colour which I add in maker pens. After a while it reminds me of a blog post I read about flood waters bringing seeds down the river that grow into shrubs; eventually the mysterious shrubs develop beautiful pink flowers. The author sits on his covered patio watching the rain and the pretty pink flowers and notices that there are no mosquitoes. A few days later he has to cut the scrub down and many, many dragonflies emerge. It becomes apparent that the dragonflies were eating the mosquitoes. (You can read his blog post here: The Mangrove Park by Rajeev Bhattathiripad.)

I then think to myself as I am drawing…

‘(Metaphorically) we need the dragonflies to eat the ‘mosquitoes.’

I draw dragonflies and more leaves slowly in a meditative fashion. It is done over two days, not all at once but each time I needed a quiet space. In the end I think of the values I would want on our planet.

‘We need new values of kindness, love and gentleness; good stewardship, fairness and exemplary behavior, outstanding character and inner-graciousness of the soul. I am passionate about environmental issues and humanitarian principles. I pray for the world; that’s all I can do at this moment.’

The dragonflies are the beautiful values that we need to swamp out the atrocious values; like the light that shines in the darkness.

We need Hope to be able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness as Desmond Tutu said.

Even the process my response art takes speaks to me. I emerge from my drawing session mentally and spiritually revived.

Visual journaling in my Studio.

Finally I share these words with you, written by Kaushall Kishore

Guard your inner flame,

Leave the noise of bitter minds-

Let stillness create…

—Kaushal Kishore You can find this poem here Beyond Negativity 

Thank you for reading. Have a peaceful weekend.

26 thoughts on “Visual Journaling in my Friday Studio”

  7. This is beautiful, Morag. I enjoyed reading your process with your morning pages. I write in my journal every morning, but I haven’t tried visual journaling. However, I do keep a sketch pad near the sofa that I doodle on when watching television in the evenings. It sort of helps me unwind at the end of the day.

    Hope you have a wonderful day, my friend. 🙂

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    • Thank you Richard, for sharing your process too. Journaling is enjoyable, relaxing and at times Illuminating. So useful. I like the idea of doodling while watching TV. I used to doodle while I was talking on the phone or listening to lectures.

      It’s a beautiful fresh sunny day after a day of snow yesterday. So it bright and cold. You enjoy your day too. Good to connect with you 👌

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  8. What a beautiful stream of thought and expression. I truly appreciate the depth of reflection and effort that goes into creativity like response art.

    When you mentioned Julia’s practice of morning pages, it reminded me of my own experience during an armed forces entry interview. We underwent psychological assessments like TAT and WAT, where time was so limited that there was no room for overthinking; you simply had to respond with the very first thought that arose. It was designed to reveal one’s negative attitude, if any.

    These days, with newspapers overflowing with distressing headlines, I prefer to read them later in the afternoon. I would rather not allow the morning to be spoiled. Thank you for sharing your unfiltered feelings, and for mentioning my haiku, it truly means a lot. I also enjoyed Sudhir’s post very much.

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    • Thank you Kaushal, I appreciate everything you have said in your message. Your comment is truly touching.

      It is so interesting what you shared in your second paragraph. Julia Cameron does mention that at first negative attitudes will arise but after a while new creative ideas well up. It is a bit like getting beyond the writers block or creative block. I’m not sure if it works like this for everyone as I think each person needs to find their own way forward but it could be a useful tool for some.

      I think your idea of deferring bad news is an excellent idea
      I am happy you enjoyed reading Sudhir’s post and I value your poetry and am very happy to share it.

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  10. Thank you so much for your words and images, Morag! I can tell that my soul has been longing for a new centering practice (aside from morning journaling), and the 100 Day idea resonates with me. Your drawing is lovely–I don’t share your artistic eye–but I will let my ideas flow regardless! Thank you!

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