Elaine Camlin - Highly Commended

The practice of journaling each day and responding to a prompt provided a space to navigate loss. Together we have lost so much – our connection to others and our sense of safety and belonging. Our human nature shifts, adapting to ambiguity and slowly coming to terms with a new way of being. This sense of loss was most evident when a dear friend passed away on November 1, 2021. Thrown into a state of shock and discomfort, I launched into the journaling process with a commitment to explore prompts through visual and poetic languages.

Over the weeks, my connection to the journal and creative process grew.  I valued the opportunity to express through prompts, engage with others over social media, nurture my practice and find space on each page to heal.

The day before our last journal prompt, I sat down to reflect and knocked an entire mug of hot chocolate over the sketchbook. Frantically mopping up the liquid, I once again was thrown into a state of shock and discomfort, circling back to the point of beginning. With the pages soggy, warped and bent, I pulled out each page, blotting and salvaging what I could. Pegging the pages around the room to dry, I felt defeated. Reluctantly I checked the prompt on the final day: Transformation.