Visual Art Journaling: A Coping Mechanism

The concept of this project was conceived as a result of wanting to find ways to creatively express my mental health journey. While researching the use of art to express negative and positive mental health experiences, visual journaling was one that I resonated with most. Visual journaling gives the ability to use various two-dimensional art mediums in conveying several issues within the full length of a book. Some key areas that I wanted to focus on in my journal were aspects of my mental health and some traumatic events that I have gone through.

I found that a five-week time frame with varying amounts of daily progress allowed less pressure on artmaking. The decoration of the outside of the book took two weeks. This includes prepping supplies, planning the design, and decorating. The pages were worked on daily, normally consisting of a spread of two pages per subject matter.

The supplies used varied but mostly consisted of watercolor, magazine clippings, book pages, decoupage, and Micron pens. Most pages have a watercolor background with the magazine clippings or book pages decoupaged. Prior to artmaking, I spent time reflecting on past experiences and their impact. I decided what to include by the experiences that have impacted my mental health the most.