What I've been up to lately ...

So ... it's been awhile. Sorry. Life happens. And it's not like I haven't been doing *anything*, it's just that I haven't been posting. And, oh yeah, I started another blog, but it's a blog with a purpose.

In September 2016, I started teaching art journaling as part of the health program I belong to, so I started a blog to go with the class so students could still take part even if they couldn't attend every class.

Thanks to some prompting, I've decided to cross-post from the class blog to this one so more people will know what I'm up to and not assume that I've fallen into a deep dark non-creative well.

I'm going to spin the clock back to September 2016 and begin at the beginning ... here's a link to the first post I created for the new class. Funny to look back at it now from more than two years in the future. I'm very critical of my own past work and almost always feel the best thing I've ever done is the thing I'm working on now. Keep that in mind as you read this ... just in case you come across any glaring, laughable errors ...

Here's a link to Week One of the 2016 Class
And here's what it says:

Hello and welcome ... so glad you can join me in this exploration of creative vision journaling. Every week I'll be putting the text from the handouts here for you to read, as well as much visual content as I can. You'll also find the weekly handouts here to print out again.

This series of classes has been designed in the hopes that you will discover ways to use creative self-expression to document your life experience in support of your goals for better health, whether that be something as simple as relaxation, or as complex as setting life goals and working towards them.

Everything I post here will be either something I discovered through my own journaling process or information and links that I've found useful for myself. I'm not an expert, but I 've found over the years that journalling has made a significant improvement in how I value myself and my contribution to the world around me.

Like many people, I used to put myself at the bottom of my "to nurture" list, and although I loved what I did in the world ~ work, family, volunteering ~ eventually this led to personal burnout. These days I like to use the analogy of the oxygen mask in an airplane. You can't take care of the people around you if you aren't able to breathe yourself. So take some time ~ sometimes you don't need much ~ and nurture yourself through play, exploration, and self-expression. Let the games begin ...

Since the intro was a bit slim, here's the next bit you need to get going in Visual Journaling.

Rather than posting the whole thing, follow the link above to get all the info, printable class handouts and everything else. But I *will* post the photo because otherwise, this post will be nothing but a daunting block of text! 

Working in my Black & White Journal.
Yes, I have multiple journals going on at all times ... 

Once you have the link to the class, you can follow the class blog (which has links, photos and handouts for each and every class), or check back here as I slowly add links to past classes, even as I'm adding new classes to this year's series (we're on Series 5!).