3 secrets to art journaling so that you can feel your feelings and boost your mood

Being creative has always been healing for me.

I have been using it for as long as I can remember. As a teenager you could find me in my room reading and writing poetry, listening to music, dancing, and cutting and pasting magazines into collages. 

Growing up as an only child, I spent a lot of time by myself or with adults. Naturally my house growing up was very quiet, as it was just me and my mom. 

Having transitioned from a daughter to a mother, I realized early on in my mothering that I had strong urges to be alone in the quiet, doing art. I even signed up for an art journal class while I was on MAT leave just so that I could have scheduled, accountable time for myself. Turns out there wasn’t enough registrations to run it, I was literally devastated. I wasn’t sure how to facilitate this kind of creativity for myself, I had long lost my creative routines from adolescence.

And now my house now is pretty much the exact opposite of the one I grew up in. I have two rambunctious boys, a dog, a male partner, a high energy, lively, loud home. 

I’ve come a long way since cutting up Sears catalogues in my basement, creating collages that expressed my feelings, realities and pains. It took me a long time to figure out what works and what doesn’t when it comes to coping with the ups and downs of motherhood.

I now have a regular art routine again and I have to listen closely to my inner child when she is speaking to me to create, express and be with myself. I can feel it in my body when my nervous system is screaming for alone, quiet, and art.

In my opinion, being creative is the best form of mindful self care to prevent irritability, anger, resentment, burnout, and inauthenticity.

How I use creativity (especially art journaling) to boost my mood and keep me grounded in my parenting:

1. Keep a small stash of art supplies close by (easy to take out and easy to clean up)

2. Schedule in time for creativity (I put reminders right in my phone)

3. When doing art, create for creating sake, no judgements, no expectations.

Keep reading for how to actually do this for yourself

Three secrets to art journaling your feelings so that you can honour the highs and lows of motherhood:

1. Keep a small stash of art supplies in an accessible space (just like you would store supplies for fitness/meditation).
   I keep an art journal, pens, pastels, and some very simple collage materials and supplies in the cabinet by my kitchen table. They are easy to access and easy to clean up in case I have to abort mission quickly and don’t want little hands all over my art.

2. Carve out time for creativity.
   Just like you make time for socials, TV, and connecting with loved ones. Set reminders on your phone. Have a predictable time and place for art making. Through lines, doodles, colour, shape, texture, words, and expression you will boost your mood, and rejuvenate your nervous system. Best of all, making time for yourself shows commitment to you, and you organically feel like your needs matter and are being tended to.

3. Create for the sake of creating (without judgment/expectation).
   Creative outlets allow you to try new things, get your mind off your stressors, and to express whatever you feel in that moment. In our modern society we tend to try to (or think we should) monetize everything. You don't have to make art to post, sell, or even keep. Art journaling your feelings, and exploring whatever needs expressing is just for your own emotional release.

   If this one makes you think… umm…what, exactly how do I “create for the sake of creating"?” The act of making art, writing poetry or creating playlists is a worthy act in of itself. Modern consumerism and capitalist society would have you believe that creative pursuits are only worthy when validated by likes, comments, followers, sales, attention, and money. This is simply not true. Creating art to express yourself is a worthy way to spend your time.

If you are curious about having some guidance around your own creative commitment to self, then I suggest you take a look into my signature art journaling online ecourse Show Up With Love.

Artist’s Creed - Jan Phillips

I believe I am worth the time it takes to create
whatever I feel called to create.

I believe that my work is worthy of its own space
which is worthy of the name, Sacred.

I believe that when I enter this space, I have the right
to work in silence, uninterruptedly, for as long as I choose.

I believe that the moment I open myself to the gifts of the Muse
I open myself to the Source of All Creation
and become One with the Mother of Life Itself.

I believe that my work is joyful, useful and constantly changing,
flowing through me like a river with no beginning and no end.

I believe that what it is I am called to do
will make itself known when I have made myself ready.

I believe that the time I spend creating my art
is as precious as the time I spend giving to others.

I believe that what truly matters in the making of art
is not what the final piece looks like or sounds like,
not what it is worth or not worth, but what
newness gets added to the universe in the process
of the piece itself becoming.

I believe that I am not alone in my attempts to create,
and that once I begin the work, settle into the strangeness,
the words will take shape, the form find life, and the spirit take flight.

I believe that as the Muse gives to me,
So does she deserve from me:
faith, mindfulness and enduring commitment.