A number of people have asked me to explain what happens at Art Journaling (starting up next week and happening monthly this fall). I realize I should take a stab at describing why it's such a delightful way to spend an evening.

Anna Redish teaches this class; one thing you should know about Anna is that she gets more excited about craft supplies and techniques than anybody I know - and I know some very crafty people. Another thing you should know is that Anna is never without an art journal on her person. She started making them out of tissue paper so she could always have one in her bag or pocket. Anna believes in the power of self-expression, and in striking while the muse is with you. She also believes in being prepared for creativity. She told me to read Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit, which I did, and I immediately identified some ways Anna has applied Twyla's advice. Advice about how to overcome your fear of the blank page (or studio), how to build your skills so you'll be ready to implement ideas when they strike, and how to challenge your assumptions about the way things work, so you'll be willing to try something else when they don't work.

So what do we do in art journaling? Well, it's a lot like regular journaling, in that it is uncensored and all about the process. Making marks on the page, not judging the finished product. Sometimes we do write. My favourite activity was when Anna fired us up to write a rant, as full of expletives as we liked. We wrote in 4 directions, rendering the finished page illegible. We put a finish coat of colour over top too, just to be sure our secrets were safe. Sometimes Anna gives us a starting phrase and we write from there. Here's an example:

One night we wrote ourselves letters on a particular theme and learned how to fold them up like this:

Another time we learned photo transfer, and I had fun making pictures of 40s stage actors from an old theatre magazine appear in my journal. And one night we played with paint and bubble wrap, entertaining our inner children no end.

This fall, Anna will be sharing all kinds of techniques for applying marks to a page - all of which are great to use in other projects - but the best part will be in the doing. Focusing on artistic expression as a way of silencing the chatter in your head and being in the moment.

This workshop series is offered on a sliding scale to help make it accessible to everyone. Whether you're an artist looking to unblock your creativity, or somebody who wants to explore your artistic side without any pressure to be able to draw or paint a certain way, I really encourage you to give this time to yourself.

Right at the beginning of 2011, I had a creativity coaching session with Lisa Pijuan-Nomura. I promised her I would "make" for an hour a day for 90 days, and I did (I am very disciplined when somebody gives me a task). Then I had a spurt of creativity when I dreamt up my Wise Daughters sleep/lounge/everything wear, soon to go into production.

Last week I took Christine Pensa's silkscreening workshop here at the shop, and I was instantly smitten. The urge to silkscreen everything in my path has overtaken me. In the workshop, I made a stencil loosely based on the Wise Daughters flower. Now I have all kinds of design ideas.

Being a business woman with one eye on the bottom line, I thought about what I'd like to make that I think my customers would want to have. Full-sized fabric dinner napkins came to mind. Eco-conscious consumers want reusable, sustainable products, as do I. With a quick bit of googling, I found a local supplier of lovely organic cotton napkins, perfect for embellishing with colourful images. My order is in, and as soon as they arrive, I'll be happily whiling away the quieter summer shop hours playing with my brand new screen, squeegee and inks.

Right at the beginning of 2011, I had a creativity coaching session with Lisa Pijuan-Nomura. I promised her I would "make" for an hour a day for 90 days, and I did (I am very disciplined when somebody gives me a task). Then I had a spurt of creativity when I dreamt up my Wise Daughters sleep/lounge/everything wear, soon to go into production.

Last week I took Christine Pensa's silkscreening workshop here at the shop, and I was instantly smitten. The urge to silkscreen everything in my path has overtaken me. In the workshop, I made a stencil loosely based on the Wise Daughters flower. Now I have all kinds of design ideas.

Being a business woman with one eye on the bottom line, I thought about what I'd like to make that I think my customers would want to have. Full-sized fabric dinner napkins came to mind. Eco-conscious consumers want reusable, sustainable products, as do I. With a quick bit of googling, I found a local supplier of lovely organic cotton napkins, perfect for embellishing with colourful images. My order is in, and as soon as they arrive, I'll be happily whiling away the quieter summer shop hours playing with my brand new screen, squeegee and inks.

Last week a group of 10 women celebrated the end of a six month round robin with a potluck at my house. Every three weeks, we'd been getting together to swap books (usually over dinner). In between, we'd write - any style, any length - on the topic chosen by each member of the group for her book. Mine was aging (a current preoccupation). Other topics included life lessons, relationships, unsung Canadian heroes, and my personal favourite, "as luck would have it..."

As a recovering A type, I need an assignment and a deadline to make time for creativity. I loved having to write. It inveigled me to write more, for example on this blog.

I encourage everyone to form a small group and start one of these round robins. It doesn't have to be writing. Last year, some of the same people were in an altered book round robin, which was equally inspiring. We each chose themes for our books, which the participants interpreted in varied ways, using various media (collage, painting, drawing, beading, fibre). Here are a few examples:

It costs virtually nothing, and requires no special training or talent - just a willingness to express yourself somewhat publicly. There's all kinds of informal learning that happens along the way.

My group can't wait to reconvene in the fall, this time with another sort of art project to be determined.