Weekly Art Journal Prompt: "What Are You Carrying?"

Can I show you something?

I made this spread last night when I couldn't sleep. I'd been thinking about this prompt all weekend — "What are you carrying?" — and the more I sat with it, the more I realized I was holding onto a lot more than I'd admitted to myself.

So I grabbed my journal and some watercolors and just... started. The colors went down muddy at first. I spilled water on the corner and watched it bleed into the blue I'd just laid down. For a second I was annoyed, then I thought: that's exactly what this prompt is about. The things we carry leak into everything else.

This Week's Prompt: "What Are You Carrying?"

This isn't about backpacks or grocery bags. This is about the invisible stuff. The worry about that conversation you need to have. The excitement for something coming up. The grief you haven't fully felt yet. The hope you're scared to name.

Art journaling is perfect for this because you don't have to articulate it perfectly. You just have to make marks that feel true.

How to Start (Really, Truly Beginner-Friendly)

Step 1: Pick 1-2 colors that feel like your emotional weather right now. Not what you *want* to feel — what you actually feel. Heavy? Maybe deep blue or charcoal. Restless? Maybe red-orange. Numb? Gray or beige is valid. There's no wrong choice.

Step 2: Cover your page with a loose watercolor wash. Don't worry about staying inside the lines — there are no lines. Let the colors blend or keep them separate. Your call.

Step 3: While it dries (and it really does need to dry — trust me on this), find something to add. A receipt from your pocket. A grocery list. A scrap of fabric. A photo that means something. Even a dried leaf works.

Step 4: Glue it down. Don't overthink the placement. Put it where your hand wants to put it.

Step 5: Write over it, around it, through it. Not a full essay — just words. "Heavy." "Waiting." "Scared and hopeful." Misspellings are fine. Messy handwriting is fine. One single word in the corner counts as a complete response to this prompt.

Step 6: Stop when it feels done. That's it. No "finishing touches" required.

My Page: A Messy Example

Here's what came up for me:

I started with blue-green because that's the color of weight to me — not sad, just... heavy. While it dried, I found an old to-do list I'd been carrying around for three weeks. Half the things were crossed off, half weren't, and the whole thing felt like a metaphor. I glued it in the center.

Then I wrote with a white gel pen — some words visible over the list, some disappearing into the paint beneath. I wrote: "carrying other people's expectations." I wrote: "still excited about spring." I wrote: "Gesso needs his walk and I'm glad." (Gesso is my dog. Small things count too.)

The page is crooked. The collage piece wrinkled because I used too much glue in one spot. One corner has a coffee ring because I set my mug down on it this morning. It's not pretty. But making it helped me set some of that weight down for a while.

That's the whole point.

Supplies I Used (With Budget Alternatives)

• Watercolors: Koi Water Colors Pocket Field Sketch Box ($12) — Budget pick: Prang Watercolor Set ($3-4) works great for starting out
• White gel pen: Sakura Gelly Roll in White ($3) — Budget pick: any white gel pen from the dollar store; I've used them and they work fine
• Glue stick: UHU Stic ($2) — Seriously, any glue stick works. Don't overthink this.
• Journal: Strathmore Visual Journal Mixed Media ($8-12) — Budget pick: Canson XL Mix Media Pad ($6) or literally any sketchbook you already own

Total to start: Under $15. Under $5 if you use a notebook you already have and crayons instead of watercolors. There's no wrong supply list.

There's No Wrong Way to Do This

Here's what I want you to hear: your page might look nothing like mine. It might be all words and no paint. It might be all paint and no words. It might be one single mark in the center of an otherwise blank page. All of it counts. All of it is valid.

The prompt is just a door. You decide what walks through.

Share Your Page

I want to see what you're carrying. Not because I want to judge it — because I want to witness it. Because there's something powerful about saying "here's what I'm holding" and having someone else say "I see you."

Tag us or leave a comment below. Your messy page is welcome here. Your simple page is welcome here. Your "I didn't know what to do so I just scribbled" page is ESPECIALLY welcome here.

There's no wrong way to fill a page. Hand yourself a paintbrush. You deserve it.