JOY: A Seasonal Prompt

Excited to be a part of Jani Franck's Creative Community called the Bubbling Well. We're in the midst of a 21 Day Comfort and Joy journey in our creative journals, so I thought I'd share my stuff with you all. 

Having a sketch book for me has transformed my  journaling experience and has injected JOY into my every day journaling habit. Do you know why? Well, without lines, I feel free to express myself more creatively rather than just writing. So I Doodle! Doodling is so much fun because anything goes. In addition to my Uniball Micro waterproof black pen that I write with, I have also recently added Winsor Newton Watercolor markers. Fun, Fun, FUN! 

I am seriously having such a BLAST making colorful doodles; most of them I choose a word or phrase to summarize my day. Well, this particular JOY Doodle was initiated by my first prompt from Jani's Comfort and Joy journey, so here it is. :) (In case you're wondering about the shadow, I covered the writing above the doodle with paper, thus a shadow is cast.)

As I was JOYFULLY creating this, I thought of a candy cane for the first letter so I did Burnt Sienna for a reddish hue. The middle letter, O, I just did swirls around and then colored them in abstractly with Burnt Sienna and Raw Sienna. Had Super Fun with this one. Then the Y letter reminds me of a layer cake, or perhaps layers of refreshment you add to your day. 

I used the brush end of my markers since I prefer that side; it has a smoother application. So it's a bit hard to stay in the lines so to speak. But who says I have to do that anyway, right? I love to do art spontaneously. That works for me. But it's also nice to have something fresh to work with, thus this JOY prompt. 

I also followed this doodle with a list of what gives me JOY. Maybe I'll add more later. 

So, what gives YOU joy? 
Something refreshing,  uplifting, fun? 
You know what item really surprised me that I wrote down?
QUIET. 
We live in such a noisy world. So I really appreciate the Quiet when I experience it; very joyful, in a quiet sort of way. 

Try doodling your refreshment. I know I have fun and enJOYment when I do. No Rules. Just Spontaneous Fun. 

EnJOY your Holiday Season. Especially for YOU. 

Copyright 2014 Dawn Herring