Sally Goodspeed
I'm an artist only in the sense that I'm alive, have an observer's eye and (for this challenge) was equipped with some coloured textas and pencils. I do like to create though, and having completed the journal challenge, maybe I'll do more sketching and drawing, learn how to play more with multimedia or perhaps just do some occasional mindful colouring. When not journalling, I enjoy photographing the wonders of nature in Canberra, and sharing what I can capture with friends and acquaintances.
With an understanding of the reflective benefits of journalling, and a belief that a creative journal builds from doodles and scratchings, I signed up for the challenge curious to see what the process would bring. Responding to the daily prompts, I doodled and scratched and sometimes surprised myself. Each day I set aside 30 mins or so and resolved that I wouldn't rework entries beyond that day. The results show this - some entries are very rough, and some days (when time was even more limited) my efforts to represent the prompts were hurried and cursory. Sometimes though, I finished my entries satisfied with the creative process and the result. And at times, collectively over several days, recurring motifs and characters led to the emergence of a narrative, of sorts.
The best results came when I let the prompt sit in my mind for a while, and then when I started to respond to it, kept my mind in that moment. This mindfulness that came from the process was relaxing and did help with the transition out of lockdown at the end of 2021. And I challenged myself even further each week by posting a collage of my entries. As is the way with social media, it was encouraging when others in the challenge liked my posts and led to a sense of connection to a community of creatives, as well as a sense of awe of the well-formed creative responses that others produced. I appreciated the kindness of others doing the challenge. It was a big step for me to put the good and the bad out there for others to see and respond to and this sharing was a a transformative experience for me. So here it is, even further into the ether. Expect little. Be kind.