It’s time for a switch. After years of posting links to art and artists, this Saturday I’m posting journal prompts. A lot of art journals are being painted and a lot of journals being bound, but not a lot are being written in. No surprise. Writer’s block strikes a lot of people. Stare at a blank page (no matter how many colors or layers it has) and your mind goes smooth and blank.
Here are some prompts to get you started filling your journals. Set a timer for three minutes and choose one of the prompts below. Write without editing your own thoughts or censoring yourself. Write down what shows up.
1. Lots of schools require some sort of uniform. Would you like it if your workplace made you wear uniforms? Supposing you got to design the uniform. What would it look like?
2.You’ve been mugged. You aren’t hurt, but you are shaken up. There is a cell phone on the ground, but it’s not yours. What would you do with it?
3. Is intelligence inherited? Which of your parents (or siblings) was the smartest? What criteria did you use to get to your answer?
If you use any of the prompts and come up with an interesting train of thought, leave it in the comments.
Happy exploring!
—Quinn McDonald is a writer who is exploring the interior.
I’ve been wondering the same thing for a long time…..people making art journals but not writing in them…..for me that’s no doable….I have to write to stay sane so why not write on colourful pages.
Not doable for me, either. Even though I’m both a writer and a collage artist.
I have been getting into ascemic writing. Solves the problem of making sense. LOL.
Asemic writing (I had to look it up) sounds like the typesetters filler type “lorem ipsum” with a design!Now I’m interested!
Interesting post. I write all day for a living. I make art in my notebooks for art. After writing all day it is a relaxing release not to have to write more and just make art
Yes, when we think of “work” we also need to think of what “play” is for us. Playing is hugely important and underrated.
Hey these are easy!
1. But we do wear uniforms, even though the rules and inspections exist along a spectrum. Anybody in today’s culture would have little trouble taking one look at me and correctly answering: “Job: Lawyer, Engineer, Executive, Fireman, or Farmer?”
2. Check the phone. If I don’t have my own, use it to dial 911.
3. Silly question; of course intelligence is inherited. How often does a human give birth to a goose, after all?
Here’s one: you’re offered a choice. You can be transported to a life of great happiness, whatever that means to you (riches, friends, health, creative success, etc). The price: you’ll remember nothing at all about your current self and life. Not name, experiences, nothing. What would you choose?
While I would enjoy better health/energy and a better ability to make money so I could get a studio, I don’t think it would make me that much happier than I am, it would just be easier. And exploring what kind of person I’d be with memory loss would only be an interesting experiment if I got to compare later. So I don’t think I’d pay with the knowledge I’ve accumulated to earn a few extra perks. Life is pretty good as it is, overall, even on bad days.