Start a Magical Practice to Fill your Sketchbooks, Art Journals and Grimoires
Hi everybody,
Today we are going to talk about sketchbooks, grimoires, art journals and art magic. I hope you are curious.
I recently discovered the concepts of art magic and keeping a grimoire. I was immediately fascinated and of course had to start one of my own.
You might wonder what a grimoire is. Well, I would define it as an encyclopedia describing all things magical.
‘Insight’, Mixed Media on Paper, <Black Sketchbook 2001 - , by Rika Dehombreux, 2021
During my research I realized that I have been an art magician all along since art magic in my understanding is the act of creating art with the intention to bring joy, beauty, peace, love, hope and compassion into the world.
At first, starting a grimoire – yet another book to fill – made me feel conflicted. I have been trying to finish my first sketchbook that I started twenty-three years ago. I also have an art journal, a glue book, and six sketchbooks in progress. It feels very unsatisfactory not to be able to finish any of them.
So, I had an idea. Why not treat them all as magical books in which I can freely explore, learn, and experiment?
Sketchbooks in Progress, by Rika Dehombreux
So far, starting a new book for every theme, technique, medium, approach, etc., has not worked for me. So, I decided to start completing them all as magical books. Then I can give myself permission to work from reality as well as from fantasy, exploring my inner as well as my outer world by doing so. This way I can explore all the techniques, media and topics that interest me in one book. This will make it possible to become the eternal student, explorer, researcher, and mad professor that I have always been.
One thing that has always held me back is the paper weight and quality of the book in question. Not all papers take all media. While studying art journaling over the years I found a way to remediate that. I can always add flip outs, journaling cards, tags, and pockets to name just a few. I love chunky colorful books with tons of hidden and interactive messages.
‘Coffee’, Mixed Media on Paper, < Glue Book, by Rika Dehombreux
If this sounds like a plan, then keep posted as I will share my magical journey with you as I go.
I hope you enjoy!
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions or suggestions concerning magical books.
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Thank you so much for being here!
With Love and Light,
Rika 📙🧚🔮🙏🔮🧚📙