Special Guest Article — The Fine Art of Journalling 
This issue's Guest Article comes courtesy of Robert Genn, accomplished Canadian Artist. We're pleased to bring you one of Robert's articles from his own Industry–recognized “Twice Weekly Letters of Insight and Inspiration”. We'll be regularly sharing some of Robert's insight and life journey in upcoming A&CNet e-Zine Newsletters..
The Fine Art of Journaling
An epidemic of journaling and scrap-booking is threatening to overtake stamp collecting as a private and not so private pastime. Many of these are of the “I’m having a nice day” variety, or include the “I don’t know whether I like Donald anymore,” syndrome. Some are graphically fun, full of torn photos, sayings, intimate drawings, diary inserts, self-indulgencies and the poetic detritus of a life. As you may have noticed, some artists are now regularly hanging themselves out in “weblogs” and “ezines.”
The type of journaling that’s truly valuable for artists is a marching record of feelings, inventions and plans. Some of these, though not all, can be the seeds of later production. The best are based on web-thinking--ideas breeding ideas. Leonardo da Vinci is the Patron Saint of journaling. For us as well, in times of travel or quiet downtime at home, the mind becomes curiously open and enriched. A web-thought journal is an ideal way to grab this stuff and tie it down. Your notebooks need not be precious. Messiness counts. A cheap note-pad on the trail or in the restaurant, or a pad of newsprint on the studio floor can be more valuable than a quality album.
Here are a few ideas:
Make notes of incomplete thoughts, fragments, figments.
Let ideas freely associate and take you where they will.
Take advantage of giddy times, high energy, altered states.
Revisit your thoughts and ask, “What could be?”
Condense material by rewriting, gisting and summarizing.
Liberate yourself by consciously omitting the word “I.”
Include resource persons, research zones, other sources.
Circle, highlight, and re-illustrate ideas in progress.
Mix and match by looking outward as well as inward
Make a decision whether to share or not to share.
View your journal in different light at different times.
Prioritize. Not all of you is brilliant.
Journaling is under continuing scrutiny as therapy, creativity booster and as a key to happiness and health. Web-thinking and journaling gurus such as Tony Buzan, Lucia Capacchione, and others are available in the marvelous metaphor of the World Wide Web. “How do I know what I think until I hear what I say?” (attributed to Talullah Bankhead, who kept a journal)
P.S: “Keeping a journal will change your life in ways you never imagined.” (Oprah Winfrey)
Esoterica: If it’s your will, by all means monumentalize by refining and committing to a “keeper” album. In our home we call them “bookey-books.” There’s always excitement when beautifully bound books arrive at Christmas or birthdays--with nothing in them.
Courtesy of Robert Genn
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Robert Genn, is recognized as one of Canada's most accomplished painters. While his work is well known internationally, and his subjects are universal (he has painted in many countries), he excels in portraying Canada. He is perhaps best known for his work on the West Coast and in the Rocky Mountains. If you would like to receive Robert Genn's Twice-Weekly Letter service for artists, visit www.painterskeys.com |
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