Coping With 2020 through Art Journalling
** This is not a marketing-related post but it has been a significant part of my 2020 journey as I continue to reassess my professional goals. For those who enjoy being creative, or have never heard of art journalling, this post is for you! **
They say a lot can happen in a year and if you ever needed a stronger indication that this was true, just look at 2020. We’re almost eight months in and it’s been a bit of a disaster! From a global pandemic to unprecedented unemployment rates to the Black Lives Matter movement, there is no doubt that whatever “normal” was, it no longer exists. In its place, the world is using this period of global chaos to reset, and reconfigure the way they live their lives. On a personal level, I’ve been doing just that.
One year ago, I came to the realisation that I wasn’t very happy. It came to me that I was no longer pursuing any of my personal goals or being creative. I had always considered art to be central to my identity but when I focused on my career and it wasn’t as an artist, I stopped creating bit by bit until I couldn’t remember the last time I had paint on my hands or held a camera. Which for me, unable to express myself creatively, was becoming too difficult to not address in some way.
That’s when I found an art therapy workshop, Wild At Art Studio, led by Katie Flowers. In my first workshop with her, it felt like dipping my toes in freezing water because I was so out of practice with art making. But as these things unfold, I was hooked and started going to every class I could. My first multi-week class with Katie was an Art Journal Making workshop that teaches you to make your own book but also different themes and techniques that make art fun and accessible for everyone.
In the advent of 2020, these classes and the Wild at Art community have been a lifeline through a tumultuous year, professionally and personally. And that ‘s because art IS a lifeline. It helps you to express specific anxieties or stressors that you haven’t yet been able to voice, it helps you learn where your comfort zone lies and how to push past it, and it teaches you that imperfection is just part of the journey. You’ll get there!
In this past year, I’ve made art journalling a central priority and have come out with 3-5 journals already. When the world was in lockdown, these journal practices helped to pass the time and reflect on how much the world (and I) had changed. Each week, we focus on a different theme: silver linings, “This Too Will Pass”, a collage of Hong Kong, etc and each week our little community joins together to create art in a safe space. Those 2 and a half hours are sometimes all you need to take a break from the noise of 2020 and re-calibrate.
At this time, when our day-to-day lives and campus activities have been disrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic, it is particularly important for us to make sure that we’re attending to our mental health intentionally, strategically, and proactively. If art journaling isn’t “your thing”, I strongly recommend finding something that is. Developing a regular practice of connecting with myself in a creative way has done a lot fo manage my anxiety throughout this year and also, possibly more importantly, made me feel like a whole person for the first time in years.
As someone who works in social media, I know firsthand how easy it is to get burned out. Because social media never ever sleeps or takes a break, and, if you’re not careful, it’s not hard to start thinking that you have to be attached to your social media accounts 24/7. The other side of burnout is that sometimes social media is not a beautiful space. It can turn ugly and it can be all-consuming with tracking hashtags, keeping up to date with the latest likes and comments, trying to stay relevant on Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, Youtube, Tumblr, Facebook Groups etc - that’s just on a normal year!
2020 has had ALL of that plus every other major event that has completely revolutionised the way our society should function. It’s really been a stress-filled year and while everyone is learning to cope in their own ways, this is mine. Below are a few of my favourite pages from the last few months
