Journaling in the UK and MOSAICS

There has not been a post for some time, and I am using the excuse that I went to England and was busy preparing, touring, and catching up to send in a post. I'll share a few experiences as well as the latest journaling group idea.

JOURNALING IN THE UK

I was visiting a friend in Cheltenham England, where she has provided journals for a group of young girls and wanted me to give a brief presentation. I talked to these girls about the value and fun of journaling, and the freedom to explore and express themselves. We had a good time coloring and talking as we made "stained glass scribbles" with items about our personalities written inside each section. It's amazing how such a simple exercise can provide so many varied results. These girls have really caught on to the spirit of journaling, and I hope they can continue to use it to their enjoyment and advantage for years to come. Thanks for having me girls!

MARCH GROUP IDEA -- MOSAICS

In my own group, just before I left, we did pages about escape or things left behind. Where do you escape from life? What helps you leave it all behind? What are you trying to escape from, or what is something you would like to leave behind you? What is something you have left behind and wish to get back, etc. We chose to represent these ideas through the medium of mosaics. We went through our old magazines looking for colors, rather than images, and cut them into various shapes. Some of us did bookshelves, some of us did childhood images, some of us did landscapes. We used triangles, large and small, rectangles, circles, larger shapes, all kinds of things. You can do it however you want. Although mosaics are time consuming, they are very satisfying and artistic. Trace an outline of your image, and fill it in with paper clippings.


NEWS

In other news, I have been asked to give two short classes on journaling for a women's conference here in Maryland. We will be doing journaling exercises, talking about the value of journaling, and the different types of journaling. I am excited to teach this class and have some fun journaling with new people! Do any of you have any favorite journal pages that can be done quickly, preferably unintimidating ones, that I can use for these classes? What was the first page you did that really opened you up to journaling? I need your help!!

Keep journaling! Pretty soon I'll have some more sample pages and ideas for you. Thanks for you patience. Have fun.