Art Journal About Health
Do Medical Issues Stifle Your Creativity? Create Art About Illness!
Apr 25, 2008
Medical conditions and issues are difficult to deal with; there is no getting around that fact. If you are dealing with something that is causing you to feel overwhelmed or causing artists block then shift your focus. Create art journal pages about the health issues you are dealing with.
For this mixed-media art journal prompt, you will need the following materials:
- Art journal
- Waxed paper
- Watercolor or acrylic paint
- Heavy-duty glue stick
- Articles from magazines, medical journals, photocopies from books, and printouts from the Internet about your medical condition
- Scissors
- Scrapbook items with a medical theme
- Band-aids, wrappers, and other medically-related ephemera
- Black ultra-fine sharpie
Follow these simple instructions for completing this mixed-media art journal prompt:
- Open your art journal to the first blank page spread and place a piece of waxed paper beneath each page in order to protect the rest of the pages in your book.
- Using the watercolor or acrylic paint, create a mottled and muted color wash on both sides of the page spread. Keep it very light and subtle. Allow the paint to dry completely. Speed drying time through use of a heat gun or hair dryer.
- Go through all the materials gathered about your medical condition, and cut out everything that interests you or is a very clear depiction of what you are going through.
- Collage these items on to your art journal page spread using the heavy-duty glue stick. Do not be afraid to layer things one on top of another.
- Using the black ultra-fine sharpie, write out all your thoughts (or as many as you can) about your medical condition. Do not just focus on the facts; focus on your feelings associated with this situation as well.
- Create doodles and drawings wherever you feel inspired to do so.
- Finish off the page spread using the medical-themed ephemera and scrapbook items.
Repeat this page spread as often as needed to use up all of your materials (particularly the information gathered), as well as get out all of your thoughts and feelings about your medical condition. Consider inviting a friend or family member (or both) to complete this project with you. That way you can understand the medical conditions they are going through and they can understand yours.
Each time you feel as though your medical condition is going to cause creative or artists block, refer back to this art journal prompt and work through it again. Each time you notice a friend or family member going through the same, make this suggestion to them as well.
