Quotes and Thoughts

Simply put, an art journal is a journal
in which you combine art and words to express yourself. That’s it. It’s not complex, and there really aren’t any rules for art journaling. It’s all about self-expression.
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Artist's journals are illustrated diaries and journals on any theme. An art journal can be a record of your daily thoughts, a travel journal, an exercise or diet diary, a dream journal, a place where you jot down your goals or to-do lists, or... well, almost any record that you'd like to keep in a book or notebook.
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Just what is a "Smash book"?? Basically it is a way to capture memories and life moments. The idea goes back to the roots of scrapbooking when people made simple memory books. They stuffed them full of memorabilia, photos and mementos. Then scrapbooking took on its own art form. The Smash book idea is to go back to that quick and easier way of capturing what is going on in your life. You can quickly add journaling and photos, stuff in special treasures and there you have it, life captured and "smashed" into your book!
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You don't have to be an "artist" to create and keep your own art journal.

Most people who create illustrated diaries and journals aren't comfortable calling themselves artists... not when they begin this kind of journaling, anyway.

Just remember that it's art if you say that it's art; no other standards apply!
http://www.artistsjournals.com/instruction.htm
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"Art journaling is about the {creative process} of pulling together color, words and images as you wish on a page. Unlike many other forms of art, it is not about the outcome."

Tammy Garcia, http://daisyyellow.squarespace.com/abstract/art-journaling-101.html
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Creativity:

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take a while. It’s normal to take a while. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
by Ira Glass
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