Art Journaling Groups

I spend a lot of time browsing Pinterest and one of the things I like to look at are Art Journal pages. Sometime last year I noticed that a lot of the pages I was seeing were taged as dlp or Documented Life Project. I had to know more about this so I googled it and found a Facebook group then spent the remainder of the year lurking  and quietly gawking at all the beautiful artwork that I found there. So when the new year hit and I decided that I wanted to work on being more creative I joined the group and started a journal of my own. I also discovered a related group called Documented Faith and joined that as well.

You can find more information about these groups here:
Documented Life Project with Art to the 5th
Documented Faith with Stephanie Ackerman


Every week the Documented Life Project offers a journal prompt for inspiration and a challenge such as specific supply to use. Sometimes the prompt is quote, sometimes just an idea. You are free to interpret the prompt in any way you choose and the challenges are optional, just a way to help people push themselves and explore new techniques. Documented Faith had a focus word for each month and then a Bible verse using that word for each week. I started out trying to combine all the prompts into one art page but because the information for each group is released on different day and it takes me a little bit of time to connect things and come up with a plan it has quickly put me behind. I'm not sure how or if I'm going get caught up but the important part in my opinion is that my art supplies are no longer collecting dust.

Week One

Journal Prompt: Be Your Own Goalkeeper

Art Challenge: Book Paper

Word of the Month: Truth

Weekly Verse: "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

For this week I started out with a connection between goals and the phrase "plans to give you hope and a future". I decided to use a map for the book paper part of the challenge thinking about plans and goals and directions. I choose a map of the North Pole to complement the round shape of the compass. I used the map as inspiration for color and painted the background.

Background Watercolors

I decided that I wanted to keep my goals more private so I attached the compass as a flap and wrote my goals on the back side so that they are hidden. Then because my husband's nickname is Bear and the North Star is part of Ursa Minor I decided to search for quotes about the North Star and star maps. I found a star map that had the North Star and constellations for both of our astrological signs as well. So I poked holes over all the stars and marked through them with a silver gel pen. Then I connected the constellations for our signs and Ursa Major and Minor. Finally I added the verse around the outside of the compass and the following quote around the coast of the map. 

She was his north star, the fixed point round which his world turned. For as long as his heart beat, or hers, he believed they would always share s destiny. (David Gemmell)

Detail of Constellations