Portal of Attention
I just finished reading “Mirrors in the Earth” by Asia Suler - and sidenote if you haven’t read it yet, I highly recommend picking up a copy. It is composed of 12 chapters - each with golden morsels of wisdom through storytelling that feels like you’re listening to a good friend tell. Here’s a link to check out the book. Asia also has recorded herself reading the book on Audible.
As I read this book, I was inspired to art journal alongside it - diving deeper into the end of chapter practices that Asia offers to readers. This is a ritual that I have done with several other books including “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer and “Secrets of the Talking Jaguar” by Martin Prechtel.
Art journaling is something that my friend- artist, Kim Beller, introduced me many moons ago. Gathering materials around the house - I often use paper grocery bags, twine, and leftover white house paint- the journal is created as an empty canvas to explore while reading a book. After each chapter or section, I take out various art supplies - including paint, old magazines, paper scraps, pressed flowers/leaves, and ink and without a plan- just start painting, tearing, glueing, writing, etc. Initially knowing how/where to begin can some days be challenging - but going with the flow is powerful medicine for all of us.
Channeling creative energy into a project like this - especially in the mornings - opens up the line to engage with the muses long after the art journal page is finished. In my experience, if I can direct this creative energy into something positive - whether it is art journaling, planting a garden, cooking a new recipe, learning a song on the guitar, etc. - it doesn’t spiral in the other direction of overthinking, worrying, or going down a rabbit hole with Google.
For me, this means keeping the art supplies nearby and leaving the book on my living room table - instead of being tucked neatly away - forgotten.
For me, this means creating space in my morning routine - less time catching up on social media and emails - leaving the journal open throughout the day until it feels complete and the glue has dried.
For me, it means picking wildflowers and leaves gently as I go on my afternoon bikeride- to press between the pages of the hardcover 1970’s atlas that I somehow inherited from my mom - for future art journaling pages.
For me, this means playing a record, lighting a candle, and sipping on coffee amidst paint splattered fingertips and colorful shreds of paper - a sort of messy magic.
Mary Oliver says “Attention is the beginning of devotion.” Art journaling is just that - a doorway or portal into a deeply potent space of attention and devotion - a befriending of the creative soul that lives within each of us.
