Create-along art journal page: taking our emotional temperature

Today’s prompt and step by step is all about taking our own emotional temperature and checking in with ourselves.

As we begin working, consider how you’re feeling today. If you’d like to expand it, you can think about how you’ve been feeling lately, say in the past few months or so.

I mean it, it took soooooooo loooooooong. So what was my emotional temperature at that time?

Impatient. My emotional temperature was impatient. We sat there waiting our turn for such a long time I was starting to wonder if I should have packed a lunch and overnight bag. Glad I don’t have to go through that very often.

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Now that we’ve got our idea and focus for this page, I’ll show you where we’re headed, but keep in mind that every person’s page will look different. We are different people, we’ve been through different things, and we’re in different places emotionally. Please do everything you can to release any expectations of what your page “should” look like and allow it to develop naturally. Try to affirm your own willingness to show up and take a risk in doing this, and in so doing, know there’s no point in comparing your page to anyone else’s page. They are not you! Of course their page will be different from yours.

Art journaling is all about the process and reflection as you create. The end result is a byproduct.

Supplies

White paint
Glue
A couple papers that have a pattern on them. You can use old book pages, receipts, the insides of envelopes, scrapbook papers, sheet music, whatever grabs your fancy.
A couple tubes of paint in colors you’re drawn to.
Masking tape or patterned tape (washi tape).

Step by step

First, start by gluing down some torn bits of paper. Keep one portion in reserve.

Next, scrape a thin coat of white paint over your page. This will calm down the print of your patterned papers and give us a good base for our next layers.

The next thing you’ll do is plan to reserve a place on your page.

The flap of paper will go over how you feel internally, in contrast with how you appear to feel externally. I picked a mix of blue and purple, in part because I knew they’d be very different than the colors on the main part of my page. Later I added some scribbles with colored pencils.

Now, pick a couple paint colors that fit the external mood you’re trying to work with and put some of those on your page. (Avoid the spot you set aside, since you’ll be putting a flap of paper over that section.) You can use a paintbrush, your fingers, an old gift card, whatever you’d like. I chose some calm, pretty neutral colors and just scraped them on with a palette knife.

I’ve chosen to do one more thin layer of white. I used a brayer, a tool often used in print making. I like the effect it gives, but a thin layer of white scraped with a gift card will work as well.

Did somebody mention a flap?? It’s about time to put that on our page.

You can simply use a little masking tape (washi tape if you have it) on one side to make a hinge.

Finally, I always like to add a brief thought, a quote, or some journaling to my pages. You can put this under the flap to maintain some privacy, or add it anywhere on your page.