Getting Started -- A Sketchbook. Now What?

Let's start at the beginning. You have a creative dream. You have at least one idea for a creative project that you would like to see manifest in this world and you've come to this blog for some mutual support. I'll assume, at this point, that you've taken my advice from the post The Most Important Tool and gotten yourself a journal or Sketch Book that feels right for you. So, now what?

The absolute very first thing I want you to do with your Sketchbook is to make it yours. I want you to introduce yourself to it. I want you to run your hand over the spine and get to know your partner on this journey. At times, I even talk to my Journal. My journal / sketchbook is totemic, to me -- meaning that my journal is a symbol of my dedication to living a creative, abundant and fun life. I want you to decorate the cover of your sketchbook, if you like. I want you to completely own and cherish this one tool. It is going to take you a long way and bring you closer to your dreams.




When I open the cover of a new sketchbook, on the first page, I write out a contract with myself. For instance, my current sketchbook states that I will dedicate at least 10 minutes each day to doing something which furthers my creative career. In the post Creative Every Day: Business Cards, I talk about what sorts of things would "count" towards my goal and I both keep tabs on what I've done, and explore potential new ideas for expansion within the book. The first page of my last sketchbook looks like this.

The affirmation in the center is from a book I was working with, at the time, called I Am Diva! For the background, I went through magazines and cut out pictures of gems, then pasted all of it down with a glue stick. I wanted this book to be about finding and mining the "riches" within my being and art.

With your sketchbook, you are in charge. You can do whatever you want within its pages, but I do find that having the first page spell out some goal keeps my mind on track. Feel free to decorate the cover and decorate the first page, as well. Be bold! Let 'er rip! Paint, use stickers, collage from magazines, doodle with colored pens. Decorate in a way that makes you feel good about embracing your dreams, in a way that makes you feel excited about our life.

As we go on and this blog matures, I'll be giving you some prompts to get your creativity flowing. These will serve to get you a little bit clearer about what you want to manifest in this world, get your creative juices flowing and maybe discover some interests or talents you've forgotten about.

So, have fun with getting to know your new sketchbook, friends. If you'd like, you can send me a picture of what you've done with your journal at brifloorwilson@gmail.com. I'd love to see what you've done.


Until next time, remember that we're all visionaries. We just have to figure out where we excel.