Art journaling through grief
Hello sweet creative,
A vulnerable video today, that hopefully will inspire you and bring you some comfort and encouragement, if you need an extra dose. In it I share where I'm at in my current art journal, how the pages are evolving and helping me, as I navigate the most heart-breaking season of my life.
I strongly believe that your art journal should be a space of freedom and self-expression, a safe haven where every emotion is allowed, even the dark, messy, ugly ones. A refuge where they can be processed and transformed through creativity. I know it works for me.
I'd love for you to watch the video below, and leave a comment for me at the end of this blog if it inspired you…
My art time is my breathing time, and it helps my heart heal a little, whenever I give myself permission to do it.
When you run your own business, especially a solo creative one, while learning to be a single parent on top of it all, it can be very hard to find the time to stop, to pause, breathe and give yourself the creative self-care that you keep encouraging others to take (I know, I know…). But I'm trying.
Filming this little video felt good, it felt healing and comforting, and sharing it with you today feels good too, because I know that I'm not alone navigating the "raging waters" of life, as in the lyrics of a beautiful song that's inspired the page below:
One page at a time
We all experience grief, it’s a part of life, but when you’re in the midst of the whirlwind, that’s not what you want to hear. You need to tell, to scream, to show how utterly impossible and unnatural it all feels. Having a creative outlet to express it all, unfiltered, is a gift that not everyone has access to. Which is why my therapist keeps insisting that I need to use it, and definitely not put it aside.
Not now.
I know from years of experience that there’s no point in waiting for that rare moment when I’m “in the mood”. It’s about showing up, even when I have a hundred “good” excuses at the ready. Because it’s in the actual making of art, that my mood will eventually shift.
That’s when emotions will get processed, guidance and relief will show up, and a spark will be rekindled. And, unlike therapy, it doesn’t cost a thing.
So here’s a closer look at the pages I’ve created so far, on this grief journey.
If they give you the slightest impulse to go and create something of your own, I encourage you to stop right there, shut your phone or computer, and go make something.
Anything. Let it come, and unleash it…
The Surrender Page
More about this page HERE
The Dragon page
More about this page HERE
The “Whole” page
The “Next Steps” page
The “Fallen Wings” page
The “Sailing Home” page
The “Finding Courage” page
Open your art journal (or start your first one)
Art journaling has been life-changing, soul-enhancing and heart-mending for me. I'm no doctor, I'm not an art therapist, I'm not qualified to give any advice on mental health. But I'm a human, a woman, an artist and very possibly a fairy, so I'm just sharing what works for me.
If you'd like to join me, if you wish I could take your hand and guide you through this beautiful creative practice, then now might be the perfect time. Click below to find all my art journaling classes, all with lifetime access:
From a student…..
"When I get stuck artistically (and sometimes emotionally), I always turn to one of Laly's classes for inspiration and a little creative juice. I created my own Secret Garden, from the Art Journal Journeys class, with bits of magazine pages, words I've been collecting since my first courses with Laly, plus crayons, gesso, and paint... my secret garden of repose." - Barbara W.
Stories like these remind me why I love teaching art journaling: each page becomes deeply personal, a safe and magical place to return to again and again.
And it helps. It really really does.
I hope you'll find some time for your own art and wellbeing this week. It matters more than you know. And if you need a nudge in the right direction, I’m here for you.
Light, Love & Fairy Dust,
free lesson!
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In your art journal, every emotion is allowed. In this vulnerable video, I share my latest art journal pages and how this safe space helps me deal with grief, finding comfort and healing in creativity.