Looking for Inspiration? A New Art Journal Flip Through!

Do you want to mix up your art journal practice or need some new inspiration? Today I’m sharing an art journal flip through showing you some new ideas I learned at an online art retreat over the weekend. My hope is that this will inspire you!

Last weekend I participated in an online art retreat hosted by Alisa Burke. She’s a very talented mixed media artist I’ve been following for the last 5 years. I find her classes and her approach interesting and very inspiring.  Even though I have taken many of her online classes, an online art retreat with her teaching live was a new experience for me.

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Why Join an Art Retreat?

Last year I participated in my first art retreat. It was in the lake country of British Columbia, Canada at the Sorrento Center. It was a fun experience, but I realized that the format wasn’t totally my thing, even though I learned a lot from it.

I realized something very important about my creative process that summer. I like to travel to see things. As much as I loved the art retreat, but the idea of being inside when there was so many beautiful things to see and do in the area was challenging for me. I felt torn between being outside and being engaged in art. Because my husband had joined me at the retreat center, I also felt the tug of wanting to spend time with him but also wanting to create art and spend time with my fellow creatives.

I loved the art retreat structure and the time set aside for creative play. But I realized that traveling for an art retreat wasn’t the right fit for me. If you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on the importance of an art retreat, check out this article.

The Online Art Retreat

When I saw the opportunity to join Alisa Burke for an online art retreat over a weekend, I signed up immediately. I thought it might be a perfect blend of art time, while also giving me time for other things. I also love my studio that I just reorganized, so being able to create in the comfort of my own home has great appeal.

The online art retreat ran from 11am to 5pm in my time zone, which was perfect for me. I spent the mornings bike riding and golfing. In the afternoon, I was able to participate in art. I loved the balance of being able to spend the cooler part of the day outside but have scheduled creative time in the afternoon in air-conditioned comfort!

Art Journal Flip Through

The online art retreat ended up being a fabulous experience. It was the perfect format for me. I learned so many techniques, found community and inspiration, but still was able to still enjoy the weekend outside of the art time.

Here are some of the main lessons I learned this weekend and some of the layouts I created. If you ever have a chance to join an online art retreat, take advantage! It’s amazing what you learn about yourself and your art in such a short period of time.

Working in Multiple Journals

One thing that is already part of my creative practice and something Alisa suggests is to work in multiple journals. This way you don’t have to spend time heat setting with a heat tool or a hairdryer and waiting for your page to dry. Instead, you can grab the next journal and continue creating. I have more than a dozen journals that I regularly work in. Some of these I have made myself, as I’ve been practicing different book binding techniques, others I’ve picked up at my local art store on sale. If you’re looking to purchase a journal, check out this article where I share my favorite journals.

I also have some traveler’s journals that are available at my etsy store in a variety of sizes.

My favorite journal that I used this weekend was an accordion journal that I had created earlier this year. What makes these journals wonderful is because you can fully fold them open. This way, as you’re working, when you complete one layout, you can spread the book out to the next section of the accordion fold and continue working. This is a fantastic way to keep the creative energy flowing without having to wait for your surface to dry.  

Working in Layers

My typical art practice is to complete a page from beginning to end as you see in many of my articles and videos. This isn’t a bad way to work, but sometimes I get stuck. I don’t have a complete idea in mind, so I don’t start creating, or I start and stop as soon as I get stuck. This sometimes leaves me frustrated because I want to take time for creative play.  

Get Rid of the Blank Page

Alisa Burke’s process is to get rid of the initial blank page in your art journal. Instead of starting with a finalized idea, she starts by adding texture and colors to most of her art journal pages. This is perfect for those times where you want to create, but don’t have a strong idea in mind.

In the first day of class, I did the first layer on more than a dozen art journal pages. The techniques weren’t hard or complicated. It was about getting rid of the blank pages and experimenting with easy, expressive techniques.

Moving away from my typical working style was challenging but refreshing. This was a valuable lesson for me. By trying a different process, which takes me outside my comfort zone, this allows me to decide if this process works for me and if I want to add it to my own creative practice in the future.   

Adding Additional Layers

The second day of class we ended up adding additional layers to everything. This was another way where I broke out of my process. Instead of working on one page from start to finish, I added additional layers of marks, stamping and doodling to a variety of backgrounds.

We talked about how there will be areas of pages where we fall in love with the design. There may be areas of each page that you love and others you’re less attached to. Just by understanding this process, this can help us build interesting pages by adding more layers to areas we don’t care about while leaving other areas of the page that we love just as they are.

Adding Final Details

We also discussed how to finish pages. But what I found interesting is that Alisa will often have numerous partially completed pages of her art journal covered in layers. Then as inspiration strikes, she’ll add painting, doodling, and collage to finish off the pages. This is so different from the way that I create, but I loved the freedom in not having to complete something in one session. This gives me more permission to pick away at a page as I have inspiration and time. I don’t have to finish a page to be able to start on creating another one.

Using Recycling and Household Items to Create Layers in Your Project

I tend to rely on artist mediums and textures to create layers in my art journal. This weekend Alisa shared so many common household items that can be used in the art journal. I have played with a few of them before, but my mind was blown about how masking tape, saran wrap, old bills and packaging can make fantastic collage texture. It has changed how I see recycled and household items. It opened my eyes to many creative and clever ways that you can use almost anything in your art journal.

Using Words in Clever Ways

This is one of my favorite art journal pieces from the weekend. Between the drips I journaled about my experience at the retreat and the things I learned. What I love about this technique is that the journaling becomes a layer of texture. This has given me so many ideas on how words can be used as background texture, symbols, or elements that can be used on any page.  

Any Questions?

Any questions about these pages or how I created them? I hope that this art journal flip through has given you new ideas for your own art journal practice. If you’d like me to demo any of these techniques, please let me know which ones you were most inspired by. I’d love to share them in a future video and article!