A visual journal is a creative combination of diary, doodle pad, to-do list, sketchbook, and scrapbook. Visual journaling is deeply personal and meaningful, and requires no artistic training--only a playful willingness to experiment! Visual journaling also requires very few art supplies, making it a wonderfully democratic, all-access method of creative expression. In this hands-on class, participants will learn and practice the techniques of visual journaling, including creating backgrounds, transferring images, layering and mixing in ephemera, and engaging in reflective writing and drawing. Videos will demonstrate techniques and discuss the ways in which those in the teaching and caring professions use visual journaling. Participants will also gain access to identified resources and inspiration for continuing development and discovery. By the end of the five-week course, participants will have explored resources and practiced techniques for making visual journaling a personal practice, as well as identified inspiration and resources for how to incorporate visual journaling in one's own work setting.
Course Format
This is an online, asynchronous course that unfolds in five modules over the course of five weeks. To access the course, participants will need an internet connection and a google gmail address (it’s free to get one). Participants may view the class modules as they unfold and engage in the activities asynchronously, at their leisure, as their various schedules allow.
Instructors will open the modules over the course of the five-week session. Each module may comprise: instructional and/or demo videos, suggested techniques, a list of materials to consider, a list of creative prompts, discussion forums to facilitate sharing, and a selection of related inspirational videos, books, and supplies curated in connection with the week’s lessons. Participants will develop their visual journaling practice, expand their skill set, and discover their own unique style as each week adds new techniques, incorporates new materials, and builds on participants’ expanding confidence and creative range.
Supplies
Participants will need to purchase one blank visual journal with heavy duty pages 90 lb. paper or heavier. Recommendations include the Strathmore Mixed Media Visual Journal, Canson Mixed Media Journal, or Moleskine Watercolor Notebook. A blank journal may cost from $12.00 - $28.00 depending on the brand you select. Outside of acquiring a journal, participants may already have the basic supplies they'll need, such as: a glue stick, scissors, a small paint brush, a permanent marker, some crayons, or a few acrylic craft paints. A list of basic supplies is provided here. After registering for the course, please review the suggested supplies and purchase whichever supplies you don't already have. Please note that this list also includes journal suggestions, as well as optional art supplies you might like to try in your visual journal.
This class may be taken for one Continuing Education Unit (CEU) and is relevant for educators of all areas and backgrounds, particularly art educators and guidance counselors.
