What+is+Art+Journaling?



Creativity... it’s tough work, but it can be FUN. To be creative on demand is even harder. Banging our heads on the keyboard won’t help. Contrary to what people think, being an artist isn’t easy. There is inspiration all around us. We just have to be able to find it and see it. We need it to fuel our passion. There are also tools to help. media type="custom" key="22918506" align="center"
 * INTRO: **

There’s so much to see, explore and take in. Go out and search for the things that make you excited. Be passionate. Keep learning and be interested in all kinds of things. Keep track of and research your favorite artists, designers, design firms, illustrators, filmmakers, bands, musicians, graffiti artists, etc. Find books about them. Find their websites. Google.
 * INSPIRATION: **

“Draw, draw, draw. Practice, practice, practice.” Drawing is the foundation for all that is visual. It is the most important skill to have and most basic form of communication. Everyone says they can’t draw. Not true. People might not draw well but it’s still drawing. Everyone can learn to draw better. It’s never too late. “I can only draw stick figures.” Every artist draws stick figures too. It’s just the first step though. Give the stick figure some more gesture, add some construction, anatomy and technique and viola!
 * DRAWING: **

Use your sketchbook as a visual diary and scrapbook. Draw from life. Draw from your imagination. Use it as a notebook. Find what works for you. Do whatever you want. Do all your thumbnails and brainstorming in your sketchbook. All your ideas are in one place. Sometimes an unused idea or a variation on it can be used later. You’ll also see your progress. You will be impressed. Your goal should me 10 pages or so a month. Try not to neglect it for weeks.
 * SKETCHBOOK / VISUAL JOURNAL: **

Art Making can include painting, drawing, collage (things like maps, ticket stubs, found paper, quotes, etc.), photographs, etc.
 * MATERIALS: **

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 * IDEAS: **

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 * WHY KEEP A SKETCHBOOK: **


 * FRANK HURT STUDENTS EXAMPLES: **

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**WHY KEEP A VISUAL JOURNAL:** Dan Eldon ([|www.daneldon.org]) In 1993, artist and photojournalist Dan Eldon was covering the famine and unrest in Somalia for Reuters News Agency when UN forces bombed the residence of warlord Aidid. Enraged loyalist supporters violently retaliated, murdering Eldon and three other western journalists. Although his life was short, Eldon lived his years with voracious passion, leading an aid mission across Africa, working as a graphic designer for Mademoiselle Magazine, publishing a book, directing a short film and creating 17 extraordinarily powerful volumes of art work, all before the age of 22. In the pages that fill the bulging journals, Eldon reveals imagistic insight into his extraordinary perspective on the world. Filled with snapshots of his life growing up as a young expatriate in Kenya, explosive images taken in war-torn Somalia and detailed drawings of the world around him, the journal works blend the photographic reality of his everyday to create a vivid blueprint of Eldon’s imagination. Not only can Dan inspire us to create our own visual journals, it can inspire us to create anything!!!

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