Art Journal to Make Career Goals
Are You Reaching (or Striving to Reach) Your Highest Potential?
Career goals are important for those who are currently working in their careers, and for those who are on the cusp of doing so. What are your plans? Let's explore.
Being a career minded individual can be very challenging at times, particularly if you are working in a job you do not care for. If you are currently in your career, do you like the position you hold? Are you happy with the income you are bringing in? Would you like to see changes? What do you need to do to make these changes come to fruition?
f you are in the career-planning phase, what are you pursuing? What kind of income would you like to earn? What do you need to do in order to make these goals come to fruition? Who or what resources do you need help from in order to achieve your goals?
This is the focus of this mixed media art journal prompt: Career. For this art journal prompt, you will need the following materials:
- Art journal
- Waxed paper
- Heavy-duty glue stick
- Post-it notes (or papers similar size)
- Black ultra-fine sharpie
- College ruled loose-leaf notebook paper
- Ballpoint pen
- Yellow highlighter
- Walnut distress ink or brown watercolor paint
- Blue watercolor paint
- Paintbrushes
- Hard bristle tooth brush
- Small containers of water
- Masking tape
Follow these instructions to complete this mixed media art journal prompt:
- Open your art journal to the first blank page spread. Place a piece of waxed paper behind each page to protect the pages underneath. Create a light brown color wash (deepening the color at the edges) over the entire page spread. Allow the pages to dry completely. You can speed up the drying time through use of a heat gun or a hair dryer.
- Fold the loose-leaf paper into quarters and tear up to create deckled edges. Deckle the clean edges of the paper, as well. Rub the distress ink (or watercolor paint) along the edges of each torn piece. Set aside to dry.
- Return to the art journal with the toothbrush and blue watercolor paint. With the edge of your thumb, splatter blue paint over the entire page spread. Allow this to dry completely.
- Take the distressed loose-leaf paper out and the ballpoint pen. Look at the questions listed above and, based on where you are at (in your career, or planning), answer each of the four questions on each of the four papers. Be as specific as possible, and highlight key words and phrases with the yellow highlighter. Do not worry about your handwriting, or grammar. Affix each of these papers to the page spread in collage style random order. Flank the corners with masking tape.
- With the post-it notes and the black ultra-fine sharpie, write out positive affirmations about each of the pieces of notebook papers you just affixed to the pages. Affix these post-it notes layered slightly over the loose-leaf paper in collage style.
- Take the toothbrush and paint out once again. This time, splatter both brown and blue paint over the entire page spread. Do not over work this step because you still want to be able to read what you have written.
Repeat this journal prompt until you have satisfied the need to express what is outlined in the questions above. If more questions come to mind, continue brainstorming them out on further art journal page spreads. If more thoughts and positive affirmations come to mind later, add more layers to pages you have already worked.
