Lisa is a mixed media artist and tutor with a passion for art journaling and book making. Her journal pages are an expressive grungy mix of collage, colour and vintage imagery that explore different emotions and untold stories. Lisa lives on the outskirts of the Peak District National park in the UK with her husband and two daughters.

What is art journaling to you?

Art journaling to me is a way to express my emotions, dreams, experiences, and imagination in a creative and constructive way in a place where there are no rules or constraints. It is good for the heart, mind, and soul.

What does community do for your art?

Being in an art community is so important to me. It is invaluable being able to share what art journaling means to me with like-minded people who are so supportive, encouraging, and inspirational.

What does your creative space look like? Where do you journal?

I have taken over our little box room as my art room. It is small but I love it. It is super messy but just having everything to hand is amazing, I adore spending time in there creating. My husband and kids always know where to find me.

Have you ever made something you don’t like? What did you do?

I quite often make pages that are ugly and that I don’t particularly like, usually on bad days when I use my journal to have a good old rant. I always make sure I leave these pages be. They may not be pretty but they had a purpose and are a reflection of that moment. My journal always helps me to move past these moments and so I feel they are important to keep as they are.

How has Get Messy impacted your creativity?

Get Messy is a large part of that art community, bringing like-minded people together, sharing inspirational work, and constantly encouraging and supporting artists like me.

Lisa is one of the incredible teachers at Get Messy. She shares her art and her heart in the Season of Vulnerability.

You’re invited to embrace the messy middle and join the best art journaling community on the internet.

What journal do you use?

I enjoy making and using my own journals, I like including different papers and textures to work on.

What is your one *must have* supply?

I think I couldn’t live without my gesso. I use it for priming pages, muting areas, adding texture and I love including some white space in my pages.

What’s the best art advice you’ve ever received?

When I left university I was at a bit of a loss, with no real direction. I remember coming across art journaling for the first time and I emailed a lady to ask her advice. She told me to not overthink it, to let go and enjoy the process. I have always tried to follow that advice and have been journaling for about 18 years now.

Advice to new art journalers:

Try not to overthink it. Don’t worry about the outcome but focus on the enjoyment of the process.