Coping Strategy: Raw Art Journaling

It feels like healing time to me, folks. And there's no better way to work on healing than through journaling. But not just any type of journaling. This time, let's try raw art journaling.

My friend and creativity coach Quinn McDonald wrote a book this year on the topic (the cover pictured above). It's a new concept to me. I've never tried it. But Quinn's book arrived at my doorstep today, and I decided to take a look. I mention it to you because making raw art seems like a great way to get lost in meditation without having to sit in a yoga pose one breath or minute too long. This looks like a fun way to meditate and I'm all for that!

Meditation, of course, is a great healing technique. I do it on my bike rides, and it always sounds like a good idea to me, no matter how it's done. I know people who mediate while running, others who meditate while painting, and still others who crochet. I like to journal for the purpose as well. So after flipping through the 127 or so pages of Raw Art Journaling, I see it will be great practice for me and others who enjoy exploring their creative side on or with paper and creative utensils.

The concept involves a combination of artistic endeavors--and none of them have to be done perfectly. They're all about expressing your creative self in ways that help you explore who you are. From doodling with pens or pencils, to making art with photographs, water colors or found poetry, to actually writing out your anger or sharing secrets you don't want anyone else but your journal to know about, this book looks like a winner to me as a coping mechanism.

I'll probably be playing around with it for the next month or so to see what kind of journal I can devise. What about you? Have you ever tried raw art journaling? Would you like to now? If interested, you can order Quinn's book directly off of her Web site. And if you visit her blog, you'll learn more about this interesting writing/art form and read about the review her book received in Pages magazine.