Fearless Friends in Art Guest Blogger Series- Catherine Scanlon

I love warm souls. The type that make you smile from the inside! Catherine Scanlon is one of those souls. Her laugh is infectious, her art is breathtaking and her spirit is undeniable. Today I have the honor of sharing with you an amazing artist and her love for art journaling. Please welcome Cat.

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I'd like to start my blog post with a big thank you to Erika for asking me to be a guest blogger for her today -- I had big plans of making an Artful Card with you but time got away from me and you're stuck with a chat on art journaling :-)

I'm very passionate about art -- I've always taken the time to explore my creativity -- and while I'm not much of a person to "write" my thoughts in a journal, I am the type of artist to art in a journal. :-D In an art journal you are free to write and pour your heart out on your page and cover it up with pretty art -- or you make pretty art with a few words of inspiration to help you remember the thoughts and feelings you had behind the page. It's very healing, relaxing and I love it.

I also find that daily practice is healthy for my creativity and helps me work through issues I'm working through in my personal life or creative hurdles I'm trying to get through.

One of the reasons I enjoy art journaling is there are no rules -- well -- I would break them anyway -- but you can start a new page everyday or use a two page spread to make a little art everyday -- or settle on a combination of the two, do whatever makes you happy.

An art journal is a place to try out new techniques and new products to get a feel for how they work. Since an art journal is typically private you are free to create with abandon and really get the feel for the technique, tool or new art products without without fear of making a mistake.

I try to spend 30 minutes (or sometimes more) every morning in my journal. While I don't finish a new page every day the daily practice is good to keep my drawing, painting + collage skills sharp. I also try to switch it up with new ideas and directions to keep my journaling fresh and exciting so it's fun and not a chore.

If you are nervous about this fun way of expressing yourself -- I strongly urge you to wipe those hesitations and nervous thoughts from your mind and JUST DO IT. start today. Use what you have or pickup a cheap composition notebook and start with a doodle or two. Those 30 minutes you spend in your journal are a gift you give yourself and your creative spirit.

Assuming you made it this far -- for more of my art journal pages check out my blog, Art from the Heart (http://cmscanlon.blogspot.com) or take a moment to check out the creative classes I teach at My Creative Classroom (http://www.mycreativeclassroom.com). 

Thanks again for reading -- hope you'll stop my my blog for a little visit, have a great weekend! 

Thank you so so very much Cat for sharing your work today. I puffy heart you!!!