WHAT IS NEW CREATIVE JOURNALING?
There are many different approaches to creative journaling but New Creative Journaling (NCJ), developed by Anne-Marie Jobin, is based on art therapy, psychology, creative writing and creativity.
What is NCJ exactly? It is a way to keep a journal which uses visual languages (mainly drawing and collage) as a way of broadening your expressive possibilities and in doing so, have a better access to your subconscious and the riches of your inner life. Because NCJ also includes numerous creativity techniques, it awakens your life force and nourishes and enhances your creativity.
The method includes over 60 techniques, each with infinite alternatives. New Creative Journaling allows really deep and meaningful work to occur, while it can also be just relaxing and fun. You do not need to have any specific talent or ability to reap its benefits. NCJ offers everyone a way to use words, images and colors to be more creative and live better. There are numerous techniques to try. Writing spontaneously or illegibly, writing dialogues or poems, using prompts, doodling, playing with lines and shapes, making healing art, exploring different types of collages, and many more.
You will surprise yourself by zooming on a part of your drawing, opening a door through a page, cutting out words or images randomly, recycling old pages to create a new world, and more. In fact, these techniques have no limits and can be used with one another in an infinite array of possibilities. They are yours to explore!
SEE FOR YOURSELF...
YOU CAN LEARN NEW CREATIVE JOURNALING TOO!
After giving a workshop at a Journal Therapy conference in North Carolina in 2016, some enthusiastic participants asked if my creative journaling method was available in English. As a first step, we decided to translate our popular 5-week introductory online course from French into English, and this was launched in the spring of 2017. I was then asked by the Therapeutic Writing Institute to create an 8-week online course to help their clients include art in their journaling practice. Expand Your Writing with Art was born (2018). The following year we added The Handmade Life – a 5-week course on the creative process.
These 3 courses are always available as self-study, and are sometimes offered in a group format. They include videos, creative invitations, and a forum where you can share your experiences with others (when in group format). Nothing is live so you can work at your own pace, from the comfort of your home. No art skills necessary.
Be part of the next NEW CREATIVE JOURNALING courses!
INTRODUCTION TO NEW CREATIVE JOURNALING
Nothing is live - you follow your own schedule. The topics are:
- Week 1: The basics; the 3 languages of NCJ; The prompts.
- Week 2: Writing in New Creative Journaling
- Week 3: Drawing in New Creative Journaling
- Week 4: Collage and mixed media in NCJ
- Week 5: Unlimited Combinations and possibilities
No prerequisites!
Start anytime!
Cost: $90 CAD (approx. $70 US / €60).
THE HANDMADE LIFE
Nothing is live - you follow your own schedule. The topics are:
- Week 1: Taking stock; feeling your creative energy
- Week 2: Feeling your inspirations; activating your intuition
- Week 3: Moving forward: getting organized and working with difficulties
- Week 4: Moving Forward: Finding Allies
- Week 5: Celebrating your Creativity
No prerequisites!
Start anytime!
Cost: $155 CAD (approx. $115 US / €105).
EXPAND YOUR WRITING WITH ART
Nothing is live - you follow your own schedule. The topics are:
- Week 1: Creative invitations: the basics
- Week 2: The world of drawing
- Week 3: The world of collage
- Week 4: Containing vs expanding
- Week 5: Openings : the door technique
- Week 6: The alchemy of mixed media
- Week 7: Healing art
- Week 8: Closing with mandalas
No prerequisites!
Start anytime!
Cost: $229 CAD (approx. $140 US / €159).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR / INSTRUCTOR
Anne-Marie Jobin first trained as a social worker and then as an art therapist. She has been keeping a personal journal since 1976, and the rich art therapy tools she discovered greatly influenced her practice. She started including drawing and collage, as well as numerous creative techniques into her journal, which together became the basis for the approach she developed, starting in 1998. She has written different books on the subject (so far, all in French) and in 2004, begun training facilitators in Quebec and Europe (since 2004, over 400 people have taken her training). These facilitators mainly work in French speaking countries (Switzerland, France, Belgium and Quebec-Canada) but new trends are emerging, as well as a need for the training in English.