WHY I KEEP QUOTES IN MY CREATIVE JOURNAL (AND WHY YOU SHOULD TOO)

collecting quotes in your journal can be a source of comfort

WHEN YOU’RE STRUGGLING TO FIND THE RIGHT WORDS TO UNDERSTAND HOW YOU’RE FEELING, BORROW THE WORDS OF OTHERS TO HELP YOU EXPRESS YOURSELF.

Why keep quotes?

A quote has the power to be something we lean on or hold into in times of need and offer us some real comfort. As humans, we connect with quotes as we can often struggle to find the right words ourselves.

So many of the things we read that resonate with us throughout the day are lost. We read them and are sure we will remember them…but we never do!

This is why I started collecting quotes in my journals, I use the term quote quite loosely, as it could be anything from a phrase I’ve overheard, song lyrics, a book quote, something I learned from a YouTube video.

The act of writing a quote down allows us to connect more fully with the words, giving them more worth and meaning in our minds. Gathering all these quotes in one place, these special, carefully chosen words, creates something that becomes a form of self-expression, a book we can continue to look back through to understand ourselves more deeply.

Finally, the fact that these words we collect do not belong to us, they are not our own, but borrowed and kept safe among us gives them a whole new sense of credibility and power. They remind us that we are not alone in what we are experiencing, what we believe or fear or hope for.

How to find quotes to use in your journal

#1 Start to build a habit of noticing what resonates with you and writing it down - if you are out and about just capture it anywhere (scribble on a piece of paper, snap it with your phone) and you can transfer it to your journal another time.

#2 One of my favourite ways to collect words that resonate with me online is to add them to a Pinterest board. You can then refer back to this board of quotes when you sit down to create in your art journal and choose one to document in your journal.

#3 Read your books with a pencil and underline all those bits that make you say “yes”.

TIPS FOR ADDING QUOTES TO YOUR ART JOURNAL

#1 When writing these quotes in my journal, I try to find ways to highlight or magnify the important words, with either different colours, or larger font etc.

#2 Try getting playful with different styles of writing or collage letters, this blog post will help if you don’t like your handwriting!

#3 Most importantly, let go of the need for perfection here, embrace messy handwriting, spelling mistakes and words that don’t quite fit on the page and get squashed in!