Art Journal to Sort Decisions
The Decision-Making Process is Complicated; Simplify it Through Art.
Turn the decision-making process into an opportunity for a mixed-media art project. If you are struggling with a decision, art it up!
There are times in everyone’s life where an important decision must be made and, at times, this could be very complicated and difficult to accomplish. Rather than struggling with it in your mind, create an art journal page spread (or a few) to help you sort through the process. You may not necessarily come up with a solution right away, but it will set you on the right path toward achieving this goal.
For this mixed media art journal prompt, you will need the following materials:
- Art journal
- Heavy-duty glue stick
- Index cards or post-it notes
- Ballpoint pen
- Black ultra-fine sharpies
- Painter’s tape
- Acrylic or watercolor paint, earth tones
- Sponge or paintbrushes
- Small containers of water
- Walnut distress ink
Follow these simple instructions to complete this mixed media art journal prompt:
- Open your art journal to the first blank page spread and set out all of your materials. Think for a moment about the decision you are struggling with. If you are feeling confused or overwhelmed, free write in a notebook or in your text-only journal.
- Cover both sides of the page spread with a light brown color wash. Allow to dry completely. Speed up the drying time through use of a heat gun or a hair dryer.
- While the paint is drying, tear a deckled edge along five to seven index cards or post-it notes. Rub the walnut distress ink along these edges. Set these aside to dry completely, otherwise they will smudge.
- Pull off lengths of painter’s tape so you have enough to create a boarder. Before adding them to the page spread, tear them in half so a deckled edge is created. Add the tape to the edges of the page spread so the deckled edge is facing the clean edge of the page (to create a clean edge boarder in the center of the spread).
- Add another layer of paint to the edge of the page spread in either green or yellow. Allow this to dry completely. Remove the painter’s tape once completely dried and discard.
- On the index cards or post-it notes, write out everything you are struggling with during the decision making process in ballpoint pen. If there is a need to write out a list of pro’s and con’s, assign one half of the page spread for each.
- Affix the index cards or post-it notes to the page spread using the heavy-duty glue stick in either a random or straight pattern. Do not worry if the papers escape the edges of the boarder you created.
- Using the black ultra-fine sharpie, create doodles, swirls, drawings, and additional text. Write out any additional thoughts about the decision you are struggling with. Add notes about how you can make this decision, in addition to anyone who might be able to help you with the decision making process.
Repeat this art journal prompt as often as necessary to bring you closer to solving this problem. As mentioned above, you may not solve the problem you are struggling with during this art journal prompt. Hopefully, though, you will be one step closer.
