Simple Art/Big Impact: Creative Self-Care for Mental Health

This week I’m testing another new journal option with Sharpie and pen for some neurographic-style doodle goodness.

Welcome to BETTER WITH ART. I’m Melinda and I’m here to encourage you to reclaim your creativity and practice creative self-care with weekly small-art prompts that can be done in the privacy of an art journal or on paper if you don’t have one. Cardstock would be better than printer or sketch paper for this week’s Sharpie (or other marker) use.

If you’re interested in purchasing an ideal art journal for the wet, dry, and layered applications we use on BETTER WITH ART, the paper is important. It needs to be heavy-weight and smooth. Hot-press if it’s watercolor or some heavier mixed-media paper, because although I love the texture of cold-press it’s really hard on markers and pens. I aim for 140lb/300gsm.

As mentioned in the video, the art journal I recommended from the beginning and used for art journaling groups at the library where I work is no longer available in the size I used. Click here for details on ones I’m trying, that I keep updating as I experiment.