Since I will be volunteering and receiving supervision, I started a new journal!

Every semester in my program we received a brand-new journal to use during our practicum and internship for self-reflection, questions, supervision notes, etc.  This time however I am trying something new, I am creating a journal via “altered book” method.  I raided half price books for some cheap books that had good illustration with decent weight pages and tonight I was finally inspired to start!

When this project was originally introduced to me back in freshman year I said, “no way am I destroying a book to make another book” (also wasn’t explained well in my opinion).  It was not introduced during my latest program, and now that I’m back in the Midwest, it’s what everyone’s doing!!!   When I first visited art therapy interns at my new site, they all whipped out their journals which were really altered books.  Same at supervision, and then at the latest open studio, a cancer patient shared with me her story, and her altered books.

Her story was very powerful, and she was working on a 3-book series using old medical books from the research library.  She incorporated words, images, modge podge, tissue paper, you name it she had used it.  I felt honored that she shared with me, not everything of course but at least her feelings toward the subject and let me leaf through her books, such a great way to release thoughts and feelings toward such a painful time in such a positive way!  Knowing what I know now about this project I totally recommend it.  It’s one thing starting a brand-new sketchbook with empty white pages, but it’s another to bounce off of other words and images prewritten to make it your own.  (If this worked, I included the first few pages of my altered book)