Art Journal Your Archetypes: Mixed Media Techniques for Finding Yourself

by Gabrielle Javier-Cerulli

It's true, isn't it? You have a burning desire to express yourself. But to be successful, confident and happy, you need to know yourself, your true self. That's where archetypes come in. An archetype is a symbolic representation of the repeated patterns of behavior that make you who you are, the driving forces behind your being. Maybe you're a Rebel or a Seeker? Maybe you are both. Or are you a Visionary? How about a Student? The better you know yourself, the stronger, more resonant and more authentic your art. And where else to practice expressing your newly discovered self than in an art journal--a place where you are free to create with no rules, no wrongs. Art journaling is a colorful, non-critical way to explore your archetypes. In this unique book, you will learn processes for discovering your core archetypes and using that knowledge to create highly personal visual expressions, all the while embracing the personal revelations and creative breakthroughs that result.   • A fun 33-question quiz will help you discover and embrace your guiding archetypes.   • Find out how 11 professional artists draw on their archetypes as inspiration for their art journal pages.   • Follow along with 26 step-by-step demonstrations to learn how to use altered magazine images, layered stencils, Gelli Plate printing and other awesome mixed-media art techniques to enhance your art journal pages.No matter what your experience level, you will learn how to use your guiding archetypes as inspiration. Whatever your motivation for opening this book, you will discover a fun, creative path to gaining confidence, happiness and clarity in every aspect of your life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, Reference, Psychology, Journaling, Self Help

321 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2016

Reviews

[Mir]

This book is written by someone who has conversations with her soul and thinks that Archetypes explain things like why the career you got a degree in isn't working out for you. I guess that sounds better than blaming your personality. I tried to read this with an open mind because I'm making an effort to be more respectful of other people's woo woo bullshit alternate modes of understanding the world. I still have a long way to go, though. Ms. Javier-Cerulli seems like a nice, upbeat lady and if Archetypes and art journals (which are not like sketchbooks, what she's talking about here is more like therapeutic art, it is aimed at helping you express your Self, sorta, except you need to take a quiz first to find what that self is) are your bag you may well enjoy this book. What I got were, um, a few tips about nifty products like Angeline paper and Montana markers.

One thing that intrigued me about the quiz to determine one's archetypes was that in the end only the high numbers counted. I would have thought that areas in which one scored very low or had a negative reaction would also be significant and worth considering, but apparently not. Or maybe people who are into this sort of activity don't like dwelling on negatives.

Most of the art wasn't really my style. And too many attempts to sell stencils! I could totally draw those Tall Birds on my own. In fact, a lot of the instructions seemed to involve a lot more steps and effort to use a helping technique when the person could simply draw. After all, it is a private journal, you don't have to show the end product to anyone.



ymmv

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

My favorite part of this book was the archetypes quiz. I think that mine were spot on, too: artist, student, detective, engineer, rebel, scribe, and hermit.

[Becca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the archetypes quiz and suggestions for supplies & techniques. The author’s work doesn’t really speak to me, however, and each project idea showcases her own work... there are a few profiles of mixed-media artists, but I wish she had included more work from them as project inspiration.

[Nadia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"But now what was I supposed to do with my degree-and the rest of my life? I searched for answers through journal writing, visualizations and vision boards, but there weren't any revelations. No path was appearing before me. I needed to get back to the basics so that I could answer the question, "Who am I?" The answer came via archetypal work. I unveiled who I truly was and who I truly was not. I learned that although it surrounds me, The Healer is not one of my core archetypes. So that explained why I didn't want to become a therapist. I also learned that two of my core archetypes are The Liberator and The Artist. They are the forces motivating me to write this book. They want to show you a low-stress way to exercise your creativity and help you discover something new about yourself in the process." Introduction - pg. 7

[Donna Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting journal with lots of creative ideas. I rec'd this item in a goodreads giveaway in exchange for a review.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting way to find out WHO you are!

[Jae · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book so much! I made a painting based on it instead of an art journal pages :) I still use it to this day.

[FadeAwayandRadiate · Rating 5 out of 5]

unique book. liked the archetype angle. new artjournaling techniques. enjoyed reading about the archetypes of other artists and seeing their journal pages.

[Bridget]

loads of helpful information