How to start art journaling > Welcome

We love people who make art. And if you’re here then we love you too.

Yay! We’re so excited you’re here.

Who are we?

Caylee, Amy, and Vanessa. Three artists who are wildly enthusiastic about the magic of art journaling.

We mushed our creative super powers together just like The Avengers or the  Justice League to create this class for you. 

Allow us to introduce ourselves…

I founded Get Messy in 2014 after actively rebelling against a life of passivity. Through a series of very fortunate events and gradual/small, repeated hard work, I (re)discovered my creativity and realised that I really, really wanted to be an artist.

The biggest challenge? I wasn’t creating art.

Forehead slap.

I’d sit down to create and stop, stumped by the “what” and the “how” of making art. I’d focus on my vision of the perfect result and lose the love of the process.

My art journaling adventure began as a way for me to get messy, ditch perfectionism, stay accountable and consistently create art.

But, magically, it transformed into something so much more than that too…

I created Mindful Art Studio because I wanted to share all that I know about the healing power of art for ANYONE and EVERYONE.

I work with people from all over the world – from folks who want a creative outlet for stress relief, to experienced artists who want to weave more intuition, mindfulness, and freedom into their work.

While what we are doing here is not art therapy, because of my training as an art therapist, I believe deeply in a process-oriented approach to art making. Tuning into the moment through your senses allows you to be mindfully present, enjoy the process of creating and experimenting, and let the inner critic relax. The funny part is, the more you focus on process, the more your art product improves.

I feel like art journaling was always a part of my life, but I didn’t know it was called that. Once I realized how powerful art journaling was as a way of understanding the world around me and my place in it – I was hooked. The benefit I get from laying down my thoughts and emotions in these journals not only serve to document my life but to help me live a better one. Art journaling has brought me to living a more creative life, to claiming the title of artist and even to develop my own creative business.

We love art and now you too. We’re so excited you’re on this journey. Now let’s dive in and create something together.