“Remembering the childlike joy and wonder of connecting to color on the page is a great first step for anyone, even if you've never tried art journaling.”

–Minette Riordan

Journaler or not a journaler? Whichever camp you fall into, check out art journaling. It might be the kind of journaling you’re into. It might be the door to your purpose or new insights

I’m talking to creative mentor and artist Dr. Minette Riordan as part of our Summer Soul Series. We're looking at different tools to help us be more fulfilled humans at a stage when we're looking for a lot of meaning. Art journaling has potential to open our understanding — and we deserve to have fun!

We start with this definition of art journaling (there are others): a creative practice and process of self discovery and meeting yourself on the page such that the page becomes a mirror that reflects your inner beauty back at you. It’s not just for people who think of themselves as artists; it’s for everybody.

We talk about: 

• Getting past our creative scars and reconnecting with our younger creative self — and the sensory details of crayons and other tools
• Using art journaling to bring curiosity, wonder, and play into questions like who am I? and why are we here? 
• The power of a page of spirals and making meaningful pages without worrying about them being pretty
• Don’t get too precious with supplies or too attached to your journal
• Befriending (or even drawing) your inner critic
• What we can learn about ourselves through this process

ABOUT MINETTE

Award-Winning Entrepreneur and Best-Selling Author, Dr. Minette Riordan is a creative mentor and artist with close to 20 years experience guiding others to live their best lives. She loves supporting midlife women to reclaim their creative brilliance and design a meaningful and purposeful vision for their lives. Her mission is to empower women to share their creative light with the world. She believes that when we are all working in our creative genius, we can solve all the world’s problems. She is an artist, author of 3 books and creative spirit who is a wee bit obsessed with coffee and dragons.

LINKS

• www.minetteriordan.com
• https://www.minetteriordan.com/quiz 
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drminetteriordan/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drminetteriordan
• The Power of Habit
• Your Brain on Art

DOABLE CHANGES

At the end of every episode, we share three doable changes, so you can take what you've heard and put it into action. Action is how change happens. And action can be fun!

Often we feel like our actions have to be huge to match the bigness of our desires, but we have seen over and over and over again that the little things add up. By stacking up a series of Doable Changes, you will create that big change that you crave. Choose the one that really resonates with you this week and really make it part of your life. 

Here are Three Doable Changes from this conversation: 

• GET SUPPLIES. You don’t need fancy art supplies to start. Go on a scavenger hunt in your house. Gather art supplies left from your kids or grandkids or a past hobby. Gather old magazines, scissors, and glue sticks for collage. Or go to the children’s section of the store and get a cheap drawing pad, some crayons and markers.
• MAKE A 15-MINUTE ART JOURNAL DATE. Schedule 15 minutes for your art journal. Tie it to a habit you already have — do it with your coffee first thing or add it to your morning routine. Schedule 15 minutes at the end of your lunch. Set your materials out. Set a reminder. Show up for yourself.
• ASK WHAT DO I NEED TODAY. Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. Start with a prompt or question, like What do I need today? Don’t overthink. Just start putting color or image on the page. Add words if they come to you. Remember, you aren’t trying to create a pretty page, but a meaningful one. When you are done, ask yourself what the page tells you.