Journal Sparks: Fire Up Your Creativity with Spontaneous Art, Wild Writing, and Inventive Thinking

by Emily K. Neuburger

Overview

Using words, drawing, collage, and observation-based list-making, award-winning author Emily K. Neuburger highlights the many paths into journaling. Her 60 interactive writing prompts and art how-tos help you to expand your imagination and stimulate your creativity. Every spread invites a new approach to filling a page, from making a visual map of a day-in-my-life to turning random splotches into quirky characters for a playful story. ​It’s the perfect companion to all those blank books and an ideal launchpad to explore creative self-expression and develop an imaginative voice — for anyone ages 10 to 100!

Teachers' Choice Award Winner
Mom's Choice Awards Winner
Foreword INDIES Gold Award Winner
National Parenting Product Awards Winner

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612126524
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Pages:	164
Sales rank:	690,500
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Emily K. Neuburger is a writer, artist, and freelance art and creative writing teacher. She is passionate about encouraging people to get pumped about creativity, especially when it comes to the intersection of words and art. She is the author of the award-winning book Show Me a Story (Dr. Toy Best Picks, Family Choice Award, National Parenting Products Award honors, USA Best Books, International Book Awards finalist) and writes regularly about creativity and unexpected treasures on her website, emilyneuburger.com, as well as in print magazines and around the web. She lives in western Massachusetts with her husband and three children.
 

Table of Contents

About the Author
Getting Started
1  Observation
2  Invention
3  Collection
4  Color & Construction
5  Wordsmith
6  Journal Challenges
7  Journal Making & Hacking
Acknowledgments
Fortune Envelope
Collage Papers
Pop-out Speech Bubbles
Stickers

Editorial Reviews

01/30/2017
Aspiring journalers who are having trouble getting started will find a trove of writing and drawing prompts in this encouraging guide. Appropriately enough, Neuburger brings a scrapbooked, journal-in-progress aesthetic to the book’s pages: doodles, “taped-in” sidebars, and other artwork accompanies such suggestions as jotting down snippets of overheard conversation, collecting and tracing objects from nature, and writing an “I Am” list poem filled with words “that make sense to you—places you’ve been, arguments you’ve had, sneaker colors, street names.” Detachable pages featuring bright patterns and designs are included for “Imperfect Paper Quilting” and other projects. Neuburger provide graceful, encouraging instruction, giving readers the inspiration and go-ahead to forge their own creative paths. Ages 10–up. Agent: Kate McKean, Howard Morhaim Literary. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

A visually adorable and joyful book full of inspiring and creative ideas for seeing, gathering, and experimenting. You will stay motivated to create for a long time!” — Jennifer Orkin Lewis, artist and illustrator at augustwren.com

“A great roadmap for getting started with journaling. These thoughtful writing prompts and playful art activities will inspire and engage!” — Susan Schwake, best-selling author of Art Lab for Kids series

“My family’s favorite kind of any-age book. These friendly, fabulous, and imaginative prompts are great for journaling but they’re also approachably small, stand-alone creative projects. You’ll soon be busy charting your world of favorite things and places and words and dreams.” — Catherine Newman, author of Waiting for Birdy and Catastrophic Happiness

“I dare you to make it halfway through this book without running to grab your journal and a pencil! This trove of inspiring and practical ideas encourages us to push our creative boundaries and revel in the play between words and pictures.” — Alexandra Kennedy, executive director of the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art

“Transcendent! At a time when all of us — children and adults — are deluged with pixels and information, Emily Neuburger inspires us to use a journal to notice, feel, connect, and reflect.” — Sam Intrator, professor of education and child'study at Smith College
 

From the Publisher

03/15/2017
Neuburger (Show Me a Story) explores art journaling in this whimsical collection of prompts and projects intended to bring creativity to daily life. Unlike traditional, text-focused journals, Neuburger's approach features everything from sketches of everyday objects close up to lists of word games to watercolor paintings of the sky. Although many of the prompts can easily be completed with simple supplies (paper and pen are often enough), paints, inks, patterned paper, and found objects add dimension and excitement. Pages from Neuburger's journals are featured prominently, and interviews with other art journalers are included throughout the book. VERDICT Artists, scrapbookers, and other inventive types interested in finding colorful ways to document their lives will find plenty of fun ideas here.

Library Journal