Journaling With A Purpose

Before starting a nature journal page, illustration, or design project, I always begin with a simple question: “Why am I doing this?”

This helps me with all the infinite decisions of all different sizes that must be made, and helps me push through and continue even when it gets frustrating or challenging.

I have discovered there are 8 overarching reasons why I create:

1. To focus on the process or experience of creation — to simply enjoy making something for the sake of it, or to improve my skills in a certain aspect of the creation process
2. To more closely observe or pay attention to the subject — can be an object, place, person, emotion, thought, or idea.
3. To process an emotion — creativity is a coping method for me when I’m feeling something uncomfortable, so I can move through it and into a place of peace
4. To imagine a different world — exploring and creating fantasy dreamlands, a method of escapism, playfulness, and combining different stories and experiences into something new
5. To organize and analyze information — graphs, infographics, data, diagrams are all creative methods of making sense of complex data or experiences
6. To be a part of a culture — participating, reacting, visualizing, and celebrating the history and the present day of different cultures, be it ones that I was born and raised in, or ones that I find myself a part of
7. To create something of value — not just something with monetary value, but also personal value for me or for loved ones, something of lasting quality and significance
8. To connect with others — creating something to share, either to educate, enlighten, amuse, please, or simply to feel a sense of understanding with someone else

There are many overlaps in these arbitrary categories, of course. And most projects combine many different reasons, especially more complex ones. But each time before I begin, I like to get clear on which one is the most important for me in that moment.

I’ve noticed a strong tendency in educational circles to overload art lessons with way too many goals. Nature journaling, which integrates writing, math, and science with the art, can even further complicate things and be overwhelming at times.

The solution is figure out what the one main idea you want students to take away from the lesson. Is it how to use a new art media? Is it the layout of the page? Is it showing that they they have learned the parts of a bird? Do you want them to show they understand how to use shading? Will their page be used for display, or is it something for them to personally remember a fun field trip? Or are they truly allowed to simply draw/doodle for themselves, for the joy of it? Make your expectation clear at the beginning, and then let students explore and create within that criteria.