- Welcome to The Creative Corner.

My name is Lauren and I'm an art teacher with Art For The Journey.

I love creativity and all its forms and I am thrilled to be able to share it with you here.

Now, I want you to think about all of the creative things you've made or done throughout your life.

Can you think of something you made with the intention of giving it to someone else?

What about something that you created to show or perform for a group of people?

And can you also think of something that you made just for yourself?

There are many types of art and some of it is created to be shared, either with someone specific or with the world.

Some are, on the other hand, is created for personal reasons.

For self expression, to practice and grow in our drawing or dancing or writing skills or to capture thoughts and feelings that the artist experiences.

We're gonna look at all of the above, and I'm gonna show you how to make a place to keep the art that's just for you, plus a project that is literally going to brighten up the world around you.

Let's get creative.

(upbeat music) You probably know that a journal is a record of a person's thoughts, feelings and everyday experiences.

But, have you ever heard of an art journal?

An art journal is a book kept by an artist as a visual record of their thoughts and ideas.

Art journals generally combine visual journaling with writing to create finished pages.

Every imaginable style and medium can be used in an art journal.

Now an art journal is a little bit different from a traditional journal or a diary because it's designed to hold pictures rather than just words.

It's also a little bit different from a sketchbook because while a sketchbook is made for practicing our drawing skills or planning out ideas for future art projects.

An art journal is made specifically for self-expression.

It's a deeply personal thing that's created by you for you.

The famous artist, Pablo Picasso once said that painting is just another way of keeping a diary.

So the point of an art journal is not to make pages filled with finished masterpieces or to make every page perfect.

An art journal gives you permission to just enjoy the process of creating something and not worry about who's going to see it.

Remember, it's just for you.

There are lots of ways to make an art journal, I'm gonna show you two today.

For our first art journal, the supplies you're going to need are lots of different types of paper.

I've got some white paper in here because it's nice and clean for drawing or painting on.

But I've also got lots of different colors and patterns.

I've picked up things from around the house, pulled some stuff out of magazines that are gonna make our art journal really colorful and interesting.

I also have a cereal box.

So, I also have some paints, I have a pair of scissors and things to write with and I've got some string and ribbon.

Our first step is to create our journal cover.

I'm making my journal the size of a standard piece of paper, folded in half.

That's big enough to write, draw or keep things in and small enough to carry with me if I wanna take it somewhere.

So I'm taking a folded piece of paper, tracing it onto my cereal box, and cutting it out.

(upbeat music) Next up, we'll prep our journal pages.

We can mix and match any kind of paper for this part.

That will turn our journal into a work of art even before we put anything in it.

We need to group our pages together in stacks of about five pieces.

Now, if you have a piece of paper that's too big, you can use another sheet to measure and trace the proper size onto it and then trim the edges off.

(upbeat music) Once we've got them stacked with the edges lined up neatly, we'll fold a whole stack in half, hamburger style, and set it aside.

We're going to repeat this process until all of our pages are grouped and folded.

Now it's time to do some book binding.

The word bind means to tie or hold something together.

And the binding of a book is what holds the pages inside.

We need to make sure that all of our holes line up.

So let's stack all of our pages together and use a pencil to mark where we'll cut them.

You can use a hole punch to make the holes in your journal pages or use scissors to cut holes that are about that same size.

They just need to be big enough to fit whatever string you're going to use.

I recommend making three holes that are evenly spaced out along the spine of your book.

I made four and things got a little complicated.

Three are just right.

We're going to nestle our first group of pages into our book cover, so that the folded edges line up.

Open the stack of pages, so you're looking at the very middle piece of paper and let's grab our string.

The basic idea here is that we wanna pull the end of our string up through one of the holes, through all five pieces of paper and the cover, and then down through a different hole.

We'll wind it in and out of the holes we punched until it's passed through each one of them.

And then we'll tie the ends together so it stays put.

We'll repeat this process for each stack of pages, so they're all lined up and snug inside the cover.

Once you've assembled your journal and tied all the strings off to bind it together, you can decorate the cover any way you want.

I promise to show you two ways to make an art journal.

So for this second one, we're going to start with a book that's already bound.

Our old book journal is fairly simple to make.

First, let's spice up the cover of our book, so that when we pick it up it inspires us to be creative.

You can cover your art journal with drawings, paintings, collage, stickers, texts, or you can leave it camouflaged as an ordinary book.

I'm covering mine with this cool pattern paper I had leftover from my hand-bound journal.

I add some glue to the underside of the paper and smooth it out along the front cover.

Then, I do the same thing on the back cover.

(upbeat music) Once the glue has had a few minutes to dry, I add some colorful tape along the edge of my paper book cover.

This will help make sure the paper stays attached to the book, and add one more fun, colorful element to my art journal.

Last but not least, I take some acrylic paint and a small paint brush, and label my art journal right down the spine of the book.

Now my book has a story printed on the pages.

Sometimes it's fun to paint or draw right on top of those printed words and allow them to become a part of the art work.

Other times, it's easier to start with a blank slate.

So let's prime a few pages with some white paint.

(upbeat music) There we go.

We'll set this aside to dry for a few minutes, and then it'll be ready to transform as we start to fill our journal with art and ideas.

Our paint is dry.

It's time to create.

I'm going to draw a stack of pancakes.

I love pancakes, let's stack them up real high.

Maybe there's one sliding out of the stack in the middle.

We gotta have a nice pat of butter and some syrup on top.

Then, we can give the whole picture some color.

I used a marker to outline this drawing, and I'm using colored pencils to make it a little more lively.

I'm combining a couple of different colors, some yellow and some brown, to get just the right toasty pancake color.

On the facing page, I'm going to write out one of my favorite quotes about books by the comedian, Groucho Marx.

(upbeat music) And just like that, you've got your very own art journal where you can paint, draw, record your favorite quotes.

You can use an art journal for almost anything.

Use it for a brain download.

If you just need to get some thoughts out of your head, put them on paper.

You can write or draw about something that you hope or wish for.

You can use your art journal to record a trip, a visit or some special event.

You can make a map of your favorite place, record some of your favorite memories, write poems, songs or imaginary letters to people.

You can add stickers or collages, press flowers and leaves.

You can use your art journal to experiment with new art supplies or find new usage for old ones.

However you use your art journal, remember that it is a place to record what is important, curious and interesting to you.

There are no rules and no limits to what you can do here.

Now that we've made some art that's just for us, we're gonna talk to some people who are being creative in a way that's made to be shared.

We're down at Dogtown Dance Theater here in Richmond, Virginia today, and we're gonna go inside and learn about lots of different styles of dance from all around the world.

So come on, let's get moving.

(conga music) - My name is Kevin LaMarr Jones, I am the Artistic Director of Claves Unidos, which is a community based dance company.

- My name is Mark, I started doing performing arts at 14 years old.

By the time I was 15, I was professional.

- Claves Unidos is I call it a dance community.

Everything I focus on has an African heritage, so I called it African roots reunion.

- Dimension was African American.

Well, we are with more people.

We can do that very well.

Now this was let's not stereotypers.

That is part of our culture.

We sing and praise.

- We sort of celebrate the different connections and similarities and differences of dances and movement that have come through the African diaspora.

So dances of the United States, USA, North America, South America, Central America, the Caribbean.

It's sort of bringing all those elements together and celebrating those commonalities to sort of break down walls between different people.

One thing that inspires me and especially in difficult political times, I'm like we're living I, all these you see Africa as a continent, many cultures, many, many types of heritage from Africa, but Africans were sort of lumped as one category.

So when people were taken from Africa in the colonial period, there was sort of lumped together in this amalgamized their cultures sort of came together because of where they went.

So everywhere they went, they took their culture with them, and even through very difficult things like slavery or oppression.

It was those aspects of their culture that they held on to that they use to survive and thrive and used to resist and to restore or maintain their humanity.

So to all that difficult time we end up with today, all of these rich cultural expressions, dances from all over this part of the world, this hemisphere that are the basis for everything we listen to on the radio, on the basis for so many things that we love.

So it's like at a very difficult times, there was so much beauty created, that we can still hold on to.

And so the intention of moving together with a group of people, I believe there are scientific studies now that show that elevates your your whole mood that actually moving together with people in unison, actually is has very positive health benefits.

So the answer is a full body full emotional experience, and when you add the cultural aspect, it's a historical geographical experience.

So dance can hit you at just about any level.

- Dancers and musicians or drummers, they go hand in hand.

Dancers dance to our music and we as drummers, we play for them to dance.

It's a partnership.

There's nothing else like it.

He's speaking to me I'm speaking to him, but he's also speaking to everybody who's watching.

It's a crowd conversation.

Everybody likes to watch that language between a drummer and a dancer playing.

Everyone likes it.

(conga music) The rumba is from Cuba.

- Rumba for me is very... Like has this very groovy aspect - If anybody tells you anything different that it came from this place or that, they are wrong.

Rumba was invented in Cuba.

(conga music) - Bomba which is a dance from Puerto Rico.

Bomba is really neat because, bomba the lead drummer actually follows the dancer.

So it's very much a communication, it's an exchange, so it's almost like the dancer is almost the conductor, and usually bomba play on these large barrel size drums.

But we had the congas today, and just gave you a little taste of that.

- If you if you saw when Kevin was dancing, I'm watching him, there's a conversation going on.

We're talking to each other.

- Bomba is a very expressive style, but the steps can be rather small and short for me and in terms of how I interpret it.

So I think it's a very direct, very specific kind of movement because again, the drummer is following the dancer.

And so he has to be very... Musically very sharp and articulate so that it can be seen for the percussionist to respond to it and be and be in sync.

(conga music) We shared a samba, which is a dance from Brazil.

Samba is a very exuberant, very fast paced lots of footwork for the samba, which is really fun.

It was like, I was imagining, I was at in Rio de Janeiro at the Carnival and so I was trying to just have a lot of fun.

(laughs) With some very basic samba steps, and then I just sort of tried to have a party when we came back to America and just have some fun.

We had what Mark calls African Caribbean Soul, kind of rhythm he references that kind of rhythm that we played is in a lot of our contemporary soul music.

And so it was me to hear that, for me even because it was need to hear without the usual instrumentation that you hear with a lot of music on the radio, on streaming platforms.

The neat part about a lot of these dances is that, words like bomba, samba, Rumba.

They're actually African words.

They're actually from the Kikongo language of Central Africa.

So even the names of the songs you can identify and recognize the African roots over all these dances.

Some people tell me that they can't dance and I say no everyone can dance.

(laugh) If you're walking, if you're taking one step in front of the other, if you're...

Even if maybe you don't walk or you have a heartbeat, maybe you can clap your hands.

Dance doesn't happen naturally be on a rhythm, dances is an expressions, non verbal expression.

So everybody can dance, whether or not you think so or not.

(conga music) - When I say the word painting, what do you think of?

Probably something like this, right?

Or maybe this or even this?

How about this?

We tend to think artists paint on flat surfaces like, canvas, paper, walls or wooden boards, but artists young and old, have found new thing to paint, secretly spreading happiness in the process.

Picking up rocks, painting pictures or encouraging messages on them and hiding them around their communities for other people to find.

We're going to paint some rocks today that you can take outside and hide around your community to brighten people's days.

A couple of reminders for your rock painting adventure.

Remember to rinse or wipe down the rocks before you paint on them so you don't get dirt in your paint brushes.

If you're painting or writing on both sides of a rock, make sure you let the first side dry before you flip it over.

Make sure you have permission to take any rocks that you pick up, and make sure you hide them in places where it will be safe for someone to take them.

We need to respect the environment when we hide our rocks.

Keep your painted rocks away from bodies of water where they might wash away and out of state and national parks where the paint might be harmful to creatures that live there.

If you can seal your artwork with a clear sealant spray or a coat of strong glue before you leave them outside to make sure the paint doesn't run.

You don't need a lot to make your own community rocks.

First and foremost, you need rocks.

Go outside have a scavenger hunt, see if you can find some with some nice flat sides because they're easy to paint messages on.

Secondly, you need some paint.

I'm using acrylic paint, you can also use tempera paint if that's what you have at home.

But don't use watercolors because they'll wash away when it rains.

Grab a few paint brushes, some water so you could wash them out and a paper towel and you're set.

Once your rocks are clean, give them some time to dry before you paint them.

These are nice and clean and dry so I am ready to rock and roll.

Some dark or textured rocks may need a base coat or a solid color painted on first.

To help your design stand out, let it dry before you paint or draw anything on top of it.

(upbeat music) The idea behind community rocks is to make people smile.

So try using colors or patterns that stand out from their surroundings friendly or encouraging messages, quotes and lyrics that make you happy or pictures that will make people smile when they see them.

I'm painting some friendly notes to my neighbors, a reminder to always be kind and a sunny landscape on mine.

(upbeat music) Now it's time to hide them.

I found some spots around my neighborhood and around a local school where I could hide my painted rocks.

While I was out, I discovered that someone else had been hiding rocks too.

And by the time I walked home, someone had found one of my rocks, picked it up and hidden it again in a new spot.

I think theirs is better than mine.

That's all from the Creative Corner today.

I hope you'll have a wonderful time making art journals to hold your personal creations and ideas, and creating tiny works of art to share your creativity and smiles with your friends, family and community.

Enjoy trying out these projects at home and I'll see you next time on the Creative Corner.

The mission of Art For The Journey is to overcome barriers and transformed lives through creating art.

Every day Art For The Journey provides art programs designed to promote well being for children and adults in underserved communities.

We believe art heals.

Hundreds of volunteers and support from the community make our work possible.

To learn more about Art For The Journey, visit our website at www.ArtForTheJourney.org.

(upbeat music)