In January I took an introductory water color class from Natalie at Mint and Maple as part of my ongoing commitment to be creative in some way. It was a great class (more on that later!) which led me to discover Natalie’s instagram account. She keeps these beautiful art journals when she is on vacation. Stunning. And inspiring! It’s such a a neat way to capture memories of your adventures.
While I don’t get many adventures these days, I decided to build on Natalie’s art journal idea and keep my own daily art journal for at least 30 days as a means of exercising my creativity. At first I had to remind myself to stay at it. Over time, however, I really came to love the process.
I would work on it at night after the kids and my husband were asleep. It quickly came to be my favorite part of the day. No interruptions. No distractions. Just me and the critters on the couch with my pens, watercolors, and sketch pad. Soon I expanded past one page a day and started doodling until it was time for bed.
I used to doodle during meetings and while I was on the phone with clients. If only my clients had seen my phone notes! Ha! I hadn’t realized it, but that kind of tactile outlet was completely absent from my life since leaving my law practice. I’m so glad to bring some scribbles back into my daily routine.
Below is a sneak peak at some of my February pages. They are more like a children’s doodles than master pieces, but that doesn’t matter. The point was to connect with my inner creative. And this project did that, in spades. Thank you Natalie for inspiring me!
I plan to take more art classes here and there along the way. If any of you Austinites want to join me, just say the word.
