Antiquaria Journal Club | The Blank Page, Vol. 3

Hey Journal Club friends! It's Friday, and this esteemed day of the week is about to get even better..with a NEW Volume of The Blank Page! Today we'll be featuring Antiquaria Journal Club member Kim Lamberth. Her journal is really lovely, and it was a treat to read her responses. Always so insightful to see how other artists engage in a creative process. We know you're going to love her work too! So without further ado, let's dive into Kim's journaling experience!

Kim Lamberth

Journal

Stillman & Birn,  Zeta Series 7.5"x7.5"

Journaling Type

Art

Toolkit

Watercolor, pens, ink, parallel pens, brush pens, Inktense watercolor pencils, folded pen

What is your primary goal in keeping a journal?

I started art journaling a couple of years ago as a way to document my days and as a tangible way to practice sketching, watercolor and calligraphy/lettering.  I fell in love with the process of journaling and even though I am not always consistent day to day, I seem to come back to it when I need an outline for my creativity. We all have a story that is worth documenting, even if it's just for ourselves. 

How do you approach the blank page?

I almost always start by putting the date on the page. It's my way of getting past the "blank page" and overcoming the initial fear. While I rarely have a plan, I follow the path that the page seems to take on it's own. It seems to be the best way for me to capture what a particular day really feels like. The feel of the page is as important as the visual picture.

Do you use a certain paper or page style? What do you like about it? 

I typically use either Watercolor paper or Mixed Media paper. The square journal that I am using now is the first in the Zeta Series by Stillman & Birn that I have used. It has a smooth extra heavyweight paper that holds watercolor well without buckling.  It has been a change from the Beta Series that I have been using which has a little more tooth to the paper. I'm still learning how to get the most out of it, but so far I like it. It's easier on the fineliner pens and I love the square format.

What is your favorite journaling tool and why?

I love the Molowtow Blackliner pens because the tips hold up really well. But my #1 go to tool is always watercolor.  I have a small, travel sized empty case and half pans that I filled them with my own color palette. Earth tones are definitely my colors of choice, but I also like to pull pinks in to the mix, as well as anything sparkly! I travel a lot for my job and watercolors and pens go with me everywhere. Portability is important to me.

What drew you to the type of journal you chose to keep? (art, bullet, reflective, etc)

Art journaling gives me the opportunity to capture the colors in my world on paper and really bring them to life.  I love color in art, even though I tend to use it selectively. I like to play with monochromatic themes as well as other combinations.  Using complementary colors with a splash of a contrasting color makes the page pop, in my eyes.

Do you prefer to write at a particular time of day or place? Why?

Typically the evening are my art time. I wish I could create early in the morning before heading out the door, but I tend to be more of a night owl.

What do you love about journaling? 

Documenting my story is really what I love about it the most. Going back through past pages brings that particular event or day back to life for me. 

Do you consider journaling therapeutic? If so, why?

Yes! Journaling has a calming effect on me.  When I am having a creative block, journaling gives me the opportunity to go back to what I know or even to try something new.  It is truly risk-free because no one else has to see it, but because there is no stress behind creating it, usually the page turns out to be sharable. 

What is the most challenging aspect of journaling for you?

Writing my own words in my journal has been a long process for me. When I first started, I mainly sketched and painted, but I have grown more accustomed to putting my thoughts and feelings down on the page.

How has the way you’ve journaled changed over time? (If you’ve seen a progression so far)  In the beginning, my journals were filled with quotes or simple sketches. Now I tend to pull something that was meaningful out of the day/event and include it.  I love plants and flowers, so things found in nature will always be included.



How has journaling benefitted you?
My day is always better when I am making something and journaling has been a good way to do so. The Journal Club prompts have given me new ways to look journaling and I have loved following along with the prompts. 

Changing the world, one journal entry at a a time. 

We want to extend a warm thank you to Kim for being a featured member in our interview series! We look forward to what the future brings and can't wait to see what else you all create!



Happy Journaling!
xoxo,

The Antiquaria Team

Antiquaria Journal Club | The Blank Page, Vol. 2

"Journaling is like whispering to oneself and listening at the same time"

Hey there Journal Club friends! As we float towards the close of another week, we're continuing our Interview Series and have been excitedly anticipating sharing the latest volume with you! In today's feature, we'll be taking a peek into the pages and perspective of Journal Club/Antiquaria Team member, Sarah.

Name

Sarah Beals

Journal

Midori Travel Journal, watercolor and dot grid booklets currently 

Journaling Type

Art

Toolkit:

Collage, ink pens, pencil, paper, washi, stickers, found and designed media, acrylic paints by Golden

What is your primary goal in keeping a journal?

To have a sense of connection with not only myself, but also with a community. I love how Journal Club is a group with each person having their own unique take on things, way of seeing and translating the prompts. I want to experiment and form a habit that is fulfilling and fun. Right now my primary goal is to finish every page in my current journal! The ultimate goal is to have a whole stash of completed journals that I can look back on in a few years and feel warm n fuzzy about.

How do you approach the blank page?
Sometimes the blank page is more challenging than others. It’s almost like writer’s block, but manifesting visually. When I start a new spread, I will take a quick inventory of the materials I have available to me at the time and see if anything speaks to me. I’ll take one focal element and place it, or incorporate a type of framework to build around. Sometimes I’m inspired by the colors, patterns or another aspect of the materials. For example, maybe the appearance of that certain sticker or paper aligns with a concept I have for the prompt. This strategy is most apparent in my layers of gratitude spread! I see every week as another opportunity to try something different

Do you use a certain paper or page style? What do you like about it?
Favoring the mixed media style, I especially enjoy the versatility of the watercolor paper. It has a substantial weight and a nice texture. So far it’s worked well for collaging, and holds any material I’ve used! I also enjoy the dot grid paper, but primarily for use with brush or other ink pens. It’s a dreamy combo with the ultra smooth texture. I tried gluing painted papers to the dot grid and, while it worked, it didn’t feel very sturdy. 

What drew you to the type of journal you chose to keep? (art, bullet, reflective, etc) I’ve always been a super visual person, into art and design, so this was my first inclination. The look really appeals to me, the opportunity for personal interpretation and experimenting is really compelling. I like the idea of a bullet journal, but my favorite way to use dot grid is for sketching design ideas. I would like to incorporate more reflective journaling as well, but in it's own designated booklet more for personal use.

What is your favorite journaling tool and why?
I would have to say that I don’t have one specific favorite, but rather a few. I’m a graphic design student, so one thing I enjoy doing is incorporating things I’ve designed digitally into my collages. I love typography so I’m really into nods to that lately, with my typefaces of the week. I’m also a huge fan of fancy patterned papers, luxe unique stickers, and unusual washi tape. I love finding a unique and pretty element to add to my journal supplies stash. It helps working at Antiquaria, as we always have cute things! Etsy is also a goldmine for this kind of stuff.

Do you prefer to write at a particular time of day or place? Why?
I’m a night owl by nature & my quiet alone time is usually in the evenings. It may seem strange, but overall, that’s when I usually feel most creative. I have a designated table in my art room which is a nice space to spread out (when it’s not cluttered with art supplies!), but I often find myself gravitating towards the living room table. Probably because it’s comfortable and my pets are usually hanging out in that area, so I like sharing vibes with them. 

What do you love about journaling?
Journaling is both a challenge and a rewarding experience; freedom of expression and the endless possibilities. It’s such a personal thing and there’s (mostly, I’m human after all!) no outside pressure or influence to make your pages look a certain way. Of course you want them to look nice, but in your own style. There is inspiration, but at the end of the day I think a journal should be purely what you like, what you’re feeling, what appeals to you. It's a great outlet to experiment with styles and see what feels best.

In many other areas of my life I generally have defined quidelines within which to operate (don’t we all?), but that doesn’t really apply with art journaling. Exploring new ideas and trying out various styles. Autonomy.

Do you consider journaling therapeutic? If so, why?
This activity forces you to slow down and shift into a different mindset. The act of cutting paper, gluing things, pondering concepts throughout the day, searching for and curating new supplies - it’s a different mindset that encourages creativity and connects those beneficial synapses in the brain.

What is the most challenging aspect of journaling for you?
For me, two main challenges: Finding balance and managing perfectionism.

Finding Balance - With school projects, work, a husband, a house with ongoing renovations, pets, social life and all the other things commanding my attention, some weeks I struggle to stay on track - just to keep it real! But I do my best to place or write at least one thing each day, even if it’s in a different notebook to transfer later. Then the pendulum swings, and I’ll have a journaling session where I will spend more time than I normally would, so it all balances out. I’m really looking forward to holiday break to sort of regain a sense of balance with everything and put more time into personal projects, like journaling.

Perfectionism -  The urge to make everything just so, or fear of “messing up” lingers for me. Ugh, right? I’ve encountered mistakes and dealt with them by just incorporating more collage elements and trying a new technique next time. The key is to not succumb to feelings of total defeat or let it paralyze you from even getting started. Every lackluster execution is a learning experience. I’ve learned this at school, and it applies to journaling as well.

How has the way you’ve journaled changed over time? (If you’ve seen a progression so far)My first journal spread was more intricate and involved a lot of computer to print design and collage work. I’ve found it helps to be realistic with what’s going on in my life that week and to simplify things if it makes it more manageable. I’m a fan of maximalist aesthetic in some cases, but I'm beginning to appreciate minimalism more all the time. If I have more time and emotional energy one week, maybe my page will be a little more ornate than the next week, where time and energy are lacking. And both are totally ok! 

How has journaling benefitted you?
In a few ways so far - by being a part of an awesome little community. By serving as an outlet and a catalyst for embracing creative expression. I love being a part of sharing things with you all on instagram and the blog, and seeing your awesome spreads. Keep em comin’! I’m in awe of the talent and skill and it’s really satisfying to see people participating with us. I’m interested to see how my journaling style evolves and adapts to changes not only within myself, but in my life.

That wraps up our second volume of The Blank Page! This series has been SO much fun to feature. We're finding that sharing insights with one another is invaluable. It's so inspiring to see how everyone infuses their personality into their journal.  We can't wait for the next member profile!!




Happy Journaling!
xoxo
The Antiquaria Team

Antiquaria Journal Club | The Blank Page, Vol. 1

One of the most enriching aspects of Journal Club so far has been the sense of community we are building around this process, from start to finish. For yeeears we’ve wanted to be able to take a beautiful notebook, really breathe some life into it and build a steadfast habit of journaling. Not only for today, but for all of the tomorrows; peering back onto journal entries gone by. How COOL will it be to look upon your stack of completed journals with a sense of proud accomplishment?! With the establishment of the club, we are all well on our way to doing just that!

It has been AWESOME to see everyone’s vastly different perspectives and personal takes on journaling. Seeing your personality infused into the page is something else - seriously, we can’t say how excited we are every time we see a new Journal Club spread!!

So, to fully honor the wide range of unique perspectives, we felt we needed an outlet to verbalize and share not only our own experiences, but YOURS as well! Enter 'The Blank Page' Interview Series.

Within this series, we’ll feature various members of our journal club. Every single perspective and experience is valuable. The featured member will answer questions, share photos and offer other insights they’ve gleaned so far!

With that, our first featured member is Grace Hill, Studio Manager with the Antiquaria team. 

Grace Hill

Journal
Strathmore Visual Journal

Journal Personality
Art Journal

Toolkit
Charcoal, Washi, Dot grid paper, Pens, Stickers


What is your primary goal in keeping a journal?

My primary goal in keeping a journal is to continue to working with art and try different techniques and medias.

How do you approach the blank page?

I’ve always struggled with the blank page, but recently I realized that you just have to sit down and make the first mark without thinking too much about it. I’ve started setting aside 30 mins every other day to journaling and drawing. I tell myself just to make something, it doesn’t have to be good but to just do it.

Do you use a certain paper or page style? What do you like about it? 

I do not use a certain page style. I’m still really new to journaling I’m trying as many page styles as I can. If I find one I like then I’ll start using that one, if not then I’ll keep jumping around.

What is your favorite journaling tool and why? 

I don’t really have a favorite journaling tool at the moment. I’m using charcoal because I’m really comfortable with it, but I plan on getting into medias that I’m not comfortable with. The whole point of my Art Journal is to explore creativity and try new things. Although if I had to pick I’d probably say scissors and tape because even if I create something not in my journal, with scissor and tape it can become a part of my journaling process.

What drew you to the type of journal you chose to keep? (art, bullet, reflective, etc)

I choose Art Journal because it seemed the most unstructured of the options. It can also encompass any of the other journal types. So if I wanted to try bullet journaling or reflective journaling I can easily incorporate that into my Art Journal.

Do you prefer to write at a particular time of day or place? Why?

I don’t have a preference on time for journaling. I usually do it when I get home from work or before bed just because that’s the most convenient time for me to do it, although I’d rather do it when the sun was up and the lighting was better. I have set up a small desk that I journal on, for me it’s nice to have a separate space to journal so I won’t become distracted by the tv or my phone. Once I sit there the only thing I’m doing is journaling.

What do you love about journaling?

What I love about journaling is that it gives me time to sit down and be creative. With a busy life it can sometimes be hard to find time to do stuff that you enjoy, it’s also easy to get side tracked. With setting time aside to journal, I’ve found the time to do the creative things that I’ve pushed aside the past few years.

Do you consider journaling therapeutic? If so, why?

Yes I consider journaling therapeutic. It’s one of those activities that you can sit down and start doing and not realize how much time has gone by. I always say I’m just going to sit down for 30 mins or so to work on my journal but I end up doing it for a few hours without even realizing it.

What is the most challenging aspect of journaling for you?

The most challenging aspect of journaling for me is finding time. I’m an active person and love to go out and do things. I always feel like there are a million things I want to do and never find time for all of them.

How has the way you’ve journaled changed over time? (If you’ve seen a progression so far)

I only started journaling a week or two ago so my journaling has not really changed yet.

How has journaling benefitted you?

Journaling has benefitted me by just giving me the time and space to be creative and try new things.


A big thank you to Grace for being our very first Journal Club 'Blank Page' feature! If you're interested in being featured, (yay!) please leave a comment here or reach out to us on instagram @antiquariadesign and we would be thrilled to have you share your experience!

Stay tuned for the next volume, and until then, Happy Journaling!

xoxo
Bailey, Emma and the Antiquaria Team