
It took bravery just to put ink on the pristine page! But now that I’ve taken the plunge, future pages should come more easily.
I did not grow up writing in books, with the exception of some textbooks. Books were semi-sacred objects that one did not deface in any way, especially a Bible, which in our house was enormous and sat on a shelf and would have made a great biceps-strengthener, if I’d ever actually picked it up. It did make a very effective leaf-and-flower-presser, due to its impressive girth and weight. But the overall rule while I was growing up was that a written-in book was a ruined book.
Fast-forward to adulthood, when I began studying the Bible in earnest. After some initial hesitation, and following the lead of assorted spiritual mentors, I got over my writing-in-books phobia, swallowed hard, and started writing in my Bible–maybe underlining a phrase that stood out to me, or jotting a clarifying note in the margin. It turns out that, as a tactile sort of person, I learn best with pen or pencil in hand. So note-taking, underlining, and doodling is a way for me to more fully ingest the truths I am learning.
Now I’m taking one giant step further: I’ve started art-journaling in a Bible! One of my favorite Christmas gifts this year was a journaling Bible (mine’s from Crossway; there are others). It’s designed with extra-wide margins practically begging for reader interaction. But instead of just writing in it, I’m going to use it specifically for art-journaling, thus saving my regular Bible for normal reading and study.
Art-journaling helps me grasp onto biblical morsels in a different way. I suppose it’s a form of meditation: turning a particular truth over and over in my mind as I work on expressing it through ink and paint. I know it sounds sort of airy-fairy, but maybe if you’re an artist, you’ll understand. I’m not a visual artist–not in any typical sense–but I do love playing around with color and texture.
For my first entry, borrowing an idea from accomplished Bible-art-journaler Rebekah R. Jones, I chose Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
As in Rebekah’s example, the theme that jumped out at me is “Be brave,” so I masked off those letters. I chose dark, shadowy, thundercloud-like colors for the background, because the world is a scary place, but then the letters are in a contrasting light color (a pale peachy color that doesn’t show up well on camera) because Christ is the light shining in the darkness, the way a candle illuminates a dark room. Then I underlined the precise verse, Joshua 1:9, in orange to make it stand out. I don’t know if I’m completely finished with the page yet, but for now I like the way it turned out.
What do you think? Have you ever tried art-journaling (in a Bible or otherwise)? Does it sound interesting? Or does the very idea of using the pages of a Bible (or other book) as an artist’s canvas seem disrespectful? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
This is inspiring!!! I love love love how it looks and the idea of capturing the theme which may be helpful when you are searching for a verse. This is particularly useful for a visual like me who remembers the look more than what I hear. Thank you for sharing! Keep up the good work and please post others!
Thanks for the encouragement, Karen! I will plan to post more as I go along. 🙂
It’s our age’s version of illuminated text, I would say. I think what you’ve done is lovely, and I love that while doing it, it enables you to meditate on scriptures that are most meaningful to you.
As for me, I journal and I scrapbook, but I don’t see myself ever art journaling. I’m decades behind on my scrapbooking to begin with. I really need to make some headway in that pursuit before I would ever consider art journaling. But I love seeing what others do with it.
Happy new year, Catherine! I certainly understand the need to limit the projects we undertake. It took me a long time to catch up on scrapbooking, but I’ve finally done it. Maybe my lack of kids and grandkids cuts down on the sheer number of photographs and important “moments” that must be captured in albums throughout the year. These days I’m down to scrapbooking travel photos and a handful of other occasions, easily taken care of on scrapbooking retreats once or twice a year. So I’m transferring some of that scrapbooking energy to art journaling, just to see where it leads.