As Pari and I explore Art Journaling and delve more and more into it, I’m thoroughly convinced that it’s one of the best ways for kids to express and articulate their unique creative self.
Today, I’m going to share 6 reasons why I think Art Jornaling is the best way to encourage creativity and self-expression – for kids.
You will also get to see pictures of some beautiful Art Journal entries made by Pari and her friend recently!
But first…
What is Art Journaling?
It’s an extension of keeping a personal diary. But, there’s a BIG difference. And it’s in the creative process.
Art Journaling is about exploring words, colours and images.
You make the three come together to express your unique self. It’s a process that has no set outcome. When you begin your creative process, you’ll have no idea what colours you might end up using or what kind of images will form. It’s all about YOUR process, personality and imagination.
SIX Powerful Reasons Why Every Child Should Get to do Art Journaling
- Art Journaling is PLAY. Art Journaling is about playing with colours, words and images. It’s fun, it’s messy and it has no rules. Kids learn best through play – it’s been proven again and again. We may find it hard to digest, but this fact is gaining credential. When they are playing, they have their heart, eyes, ears and every sense open and absorbing. Art Journaling can have the same effect on them.
- There’s no anxiety to do it right. There’s no pressure to get a straight line or the perfect circle. They can do where their hearts lead them. Which means, even if they feel that they are not ‘good’ at drawing, they can do Art Journaling with confidence. Actually, I’d say if your kid is not the drawing-type, Art Journaling is the best form of art to take up – because it does not need ANY drawing/sketching skill whatsoever. The kid can free-play with colours, form, texture, images.
Art Journaling liberates the kid from adult expectations. The child has all the creative freedom. He/she is not limited by how the adult has envisioned the outcome of his/her effort. The child does not have to follow any rules or ‘replicate’ the end product. It means that as a parent or teacher, we only ‘facilitate’ the project for the child and step back. We let the child explore through his own imagination, curiosity and inquiry
- Art Journaling provides scope to explore a variety of mediums and techniques.
- Kids can dabble with as basic as tempera paint, water colours and crayons to something advanced like acrylic colours, mod podge, gesso (primer), liquid starch, ceramic colours, glass colours
- They can use gel pens, permanent markers, calligraphy pens
- They can explore different types and colors (black, brown, white…) of paper and learn by trial and error which colors work best on what type of paper
- When painting the whole page, they can work with thick papers and even brown paper bags, cereal boxes etc.
- They can try different techniques and invent their own. Stamping is lot of fun. So is using paint rollers or brayers.
- They can experiment using fabric scraps or pressed leaves
- Gosh, Art Journaling is a visual world in itself! I could go on and on!
- It’s a FUN way for the child to be-friend words and learn them to use as per their mood, colours, context. They absorb words in more ways then one. When they chose to cut out a specific word from a magazine or a newspaper, that word becomes an image and it’ll stay in their mind. When they write a word randomly, it may seem random to an onlooker, but the child has contemplated it and chosen over other options. This will make the word stick in his/her sub-conscious mind. Art Journaling provides a number of ‘visual’ ways to play with words.
- Art Journaling is a therapy for children. In a world where these delicate souls are bombarded with information, expectations, grades, tests – Art Journaling is a refreshing relief. It lets them be. It provides children with an opportunity to connect with their heart and mind. It can really soothe their anxieties and fears.
The pictures here are of some Art Journals that Pari and her friend Ananya made for Valentine’s Day. Pari made one specifically for her father – to present him as Valentine’s Day gift! She pulled out the page from her Art Journal with the plan to frame her art and gift it to her dad on Valentine’s.
“A daughter may outgrow your lap but she’ll never outgrow your heart”.
Whoever said this – knows a lot about the angelic nature of a father-daughter relationship!
Read my other posts about open-ended art and learning:
- Facilitating Open-ended Learning for Your Child
- Zentangle – Uncover the Artist Within Your Child
