Journal Jam Joys

I admit it: I'm addicted to Journal Jams, especially Effy's live ones. Something so magical about spending an hour or two creating art from Effy's pulled prompts along with her and other creative souls. Catch them here through Effy's Patreon: www.patreon.com/effywild

I set aside time for them so I can catch them live if possible. I like the challenge of reacting to the pulled prompts spontaneqously as Effy pulls them. In replays (although still fun) you can find out the list of prompts in advance so they're not quite the same. Mind you, I usually fall behind Effy who is a whiz at painting, understanding the colour combinations and temperament of the materials she uses but there is still that challenge of thinking on my feet that happens in the live jams.  

Paint on fingers/ heart on page/ delightful messiness of life/ Day 73 of #100daysofsybhaiku & day 103 of #365daysofsybwriting on instagram

Another delight of journal jamming is seeing everyone's posts in The Wilderhood, one of Effy's facebook groups. We all have the same prompts, we all see what Effy is doing yet everyone's paintings are so inspiringly different. Below is my painting from yesterday. I still need to put the quote in on printed paper above the heart. I had in mind something like: 'Enjoy life in all its glorious messiness.'  The swirling mess inside my heart which also seems to somehow work (at least in my eyes) inspired the quote.

---

Effy started regular live journal jams at the beginning of the pandemic as a way for people to connect with each other through art. They are a balm to my soul. Often I'll push aside my favourite activities such as art, 'reward' for doing other things that need to be get done in my day but this often means that I'll end my day (or run out of time) without having done any art. Journal jams remind me that art needn't take long and that there is power in starting and forging ahead and that everything else falls into place better if I take some time out for art. And that time set aside means a thing gets done! My day is better for it.

Much of the art surrounding me in my studio is journal jam art that I like too much to tuck away.  (see below) The bottom picture is also the present background on my phone's lock screen. Thank you for all this, Effy!

May you be able to embrace the messiness of life today.

Journal Jam from August 2020

Can't recall when i did this Journal Jam, around the end of 2020, i think or beginning of 2021. It's on my wall so although I write the prompts and the date on the back, I can't get at it at the moment. Lol. I have this one as my lockscreen on my phone.