Mining your old sketchbooks for new ideas

Plus a mixed media collage process video

Isn’t it fascinating how we can find our inspiration in the most unexpected of places, sometimes? The pattern of a root system; the shadows cast by the blinds; the shapes we see in the sky; a striking color combination we notice out in nature or in a photograph or while watching a series; a line of a poem or a song lyric — just a few of the numerous sources of inspiration that surround us each day.

We are also constantly inspired by other artists, and also by our own art, which we can re-cast and re-imagine in fresh new ways. While flipping through one of my art journals today morning, I came across the mixed media collage pictured below, and had a sudden flash of inspiration.

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I’ve been saving up some receipts and tags to add to my daily memory keeping journal, but I’ve been drawing a blank when it comes to designing the page spread. This mixed media collage girl is the perfect inspiration for my memory keeping journal!

I can use the receipts to design a dress, sketch in a face, add in some doodles or fancy lettering, and maybe even some watercolor washes. I also have some round tags, which could make for a fun way to add in a quirky character or two in my daily memory keeping journal!

One page from an old art journal could lead to a couple of different page spreads in my daily memory keeping journal. Now how’s that for inspiration?

Not just for me, but for you as well! You could easily adapt this idea using any paper scraps that you have on hand. An old chocolate wrapper, some cute scrapbook paper, a cute bookmark — there are numerous ideas and ways that you can riff off of this sketchbook page.

I also have a process video showing you how I created this page — I’m fairly certain that you can find ideas that you can adapt in your journals or sketchbooks in ways that work for you.

For example, those torn strips of paper at the top of the page? I’m thinking washi tape could make for some really fun design elements in my memory keeping journal!

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And while I may not add too much paint to my journal pages, I can bring in a painterly quality by adding in some of my mixed media collage papers in my memory keeping journal. For some very strange reason, I hadn’t really thought of doing that before!

I hope you enjoyed watching my process, and that it inspires some new ideas that you can explore in your sketchbook or even in your written journals!

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P.S. I would love to hear where you find inspiration for your art and creative practices in the comments or as a reply to this e-mail. You can also hit the like button or restack to Substack Notes to let me know you enjoyed this post. xo