A personal touch

Usually you get a very guided assignment here, with an example. Now you also get a clear guideline, but one that is so open that you can do your own thing with it. I wonder how different everyone’s page will be.

Writing, drawing & collage

1. Take your diary, a double page if possible, but a single is also okay.
2. Complete the following steps and fill them in your way:

• Apply color to your page with paint. Then let it dry for a while.
• Write a reflection on top of it, something that you think about, what you feel today or what you are doing. Or even a story you make up.
• Stick an image from a magazine on your page.
• Apply some paint on top again to apply some new shades and layers.
• Draw some symbols here and there.
• Apply some lines or doodles to your image with a marker (for those who have a white marker, take a white marker).
• Write (or stamp or cut and paste) a word on your page that is linked to the image and what you wrote.
• Apply some lines on your sheet with oilpastel.
• Finish with some (white) marker.

3. Observe your sheet and see if there is anything left to finish.

“Some days are just meant for playing.” – M.A. Radmacher

What if … you don’t have paint? Then try with soft pastel or something else that easily covers a large piece of page.

Exercise from Créer le meilleur de soi by Manon Lavoie.

TIP: Try to feel how everything is changing. You apply a color, but as soon as you paste an image on it, the whole changes. The impermanence of things … It is also a possibility to adjust by drawing things, writing … So you see that everything is possible and at the same time everything is only what it is.

Would you like to get in touch with others? In Facebook you find a page where participants connect.

Important to know:

Working in a Creative Diary is NOT about results, it’s about expressing you inner self. It is NOT about techniques, techniques only help you to express yourself in more different ways. The exercises I give are an INVITATION, not an obligation. You can do the exercise, or not, you can do it differently, it’s at your choosing. The most important thing to remember is that you’re putting yourself and your (inner) world on paper, you are NOT making art. So feel inspired by images, but don’t compare yourself ! Fun and self-expression come first.

What do you need?

• markers
• coloured pencils
• writing materials
• scissors
• glue
• watercolour
• soft pastels
• oil pastels
• some magazines

And of course: a journal/diary. I recommend an 8,3 inches x 11,7 inches notebook (A4 format) with blank paper, but take whatever you find in your house. Blank papier is good too.

More information:

The exercises used in this Creative Diary are based on a method described by Lucia Capacchione, American art-therapist and author of the book The Creative Journal, by Anne-Marie Jobin, Canadian art-therapist and author of the soon to be coming book The New Creative Journal, and myself, Sarah Timmermans, Belgian art-therapist and psychologist (Dutch book: Het Creatieve Dagboek). The method blends knowledge from writing therapy, art-therapy, psychology and basic creativity. It’s a simple method that doesn’t requires any artistic skills and has been used with many ages, many individuals and many groups of people. More questions? Please write me.

Who am I?

I’m Sarah Timmermans, Belgian art-therapist, naturopath and psychologist. I’m trained by Jungian art-therapist/psychologist Csilla Kemenzcei. I work with individuals and with groups. I’m specialised in using diaries, tarot (archetypes) and dreams.