Lisa’s Journal. Loving Kindness.
Lisa kindly offered to contribute another story this month, sharing her interwoven process of personal journalling and response art for self-care. Lisa’s layered art process reveals a depth and richness of imagery, colour, form and text. These layers of process weave with and connect the layers of her thoughts, curated written content, and post-session reflections. Thanks again Lisa. The interesting and authentic process you engage with to create these beautiful journal pages is inspiring!
Lisa’s Story: Response Journalling.
Art journaling continues to be part of my self-care practice. The photos show, again, the process of how I create my art journal pages. I started with a page of my favourite meditation, Loving Kindness - it was created in response to a client session that had been challenging.
My Loving Kindness Reflection.
Then, I took a pen and ink drawing I did of Kuan Yin and photocopied it onto "bleeding" tissue paper (the colour bleeds). I did this by gluing the edges of the tissue paper to regular photocopy paper with a glue stick, then running the secured paper through my printer.
Kuan Yin the Bodhisattva of Compassion, also known in Sanskrit as Padma pani "Born of the Lotus".
The third image shows how I never waste any paint. When I mix paint for a spread, I use another journal as a pallete.When I'm finished painting I just fill the page with the excess paint. That way I always have pages with some colour on them to begin another spread.
The final image is the finished piece. I added the Elizabeth Barrett Browning sonnet as it seems so fitting to the meditation. I love how it looks like an old manuscript that I found in an old library, monastery or abbey!!
My finished Journal Spread.
“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right;
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.”
Reference: Barrett Browning, Elizabeth (1850). “How Do I Love thee? Let Me Count the Ways”. Sonnets from the Portuguese. Sonnet 43 in Anthology.
Read Lisa’s other posts.
Here is the link to Lisa’s first blog story: “Lisa’s Gratitude Journal” .