Art Journal
Weekly Art Journal Prompt: 'What's Shifting?'

Weekly Art Journal Prompt: 'What's Shifting?'

Renna KowalskiBy Renna Kowalski
Creative Practiceweekly promptart journalingbeginner friendlymixed mediaseasonal journalingself expressionwinter to spring

Can I show you something?

I made this page yesterday afternoon, sitting by the window while rain hit the glass. Outside, the world is doing that late February thing — not quite winter, not quite spring. Some trees are still bare. Others have the tiniest buds. The light is changing, though. It's staying longer in the evenings.

I found myself thinking about transitions. About how we don't always notice change while it's happening. It only hits us later, when we look back.

This Week's Prompt: "What's Shifting?"

Not the big obvious stuff. The quiet shifts. The things that are changing in you that you might not have words for yet. The energy that feels different even if everything looks the same on the outside.

Here's how to start:
  1. Pick your colors. What does "in between" look like to you right now? For me it was sage green (that hazy pre-spring color) and soft gold (the light coming back). Maybe yours is grey and purple. Maybe it's two colors that don't match. Go with what feels right.
  2. Make a messy background. Wash your colors across the page. Let them blend. Let them stay separate. Spill a little. This isn't about making something pretty — it's about putting the feeling down.
  3. Add some texture. While the paint is still damp, press something into it — a paper towel, a leaf from outside, your fingers. Texture holds emotion better than smooth surfaces.
  4. Find words (or don't). You might write "shifting" across the page. You might write a whole paragraph about what feels different. You might write nothing at all and just make marks. All of it counts.
  5. Collage something in. A receipt from this week. A scrap of fabric. A photo. Something that represents this moment of becoming.
  6. Step back. Look at what you made. However it looks — however it feels — that's exactly what needed to come out.

What I Made

My page has that sage wash I mentioned, with patches where the paper towel left texture. I collaged in a transit ticket from the bus ride where I first noticed the light changing. I wrote "not yet, but almost" in the corner because that's what this season feels like to me.

There's a coffee ring from where I set my mug down without thinking. I almost covered it up. Then I decided it was part of the page — proof that I was here, really here, while I made this.

What You Might Need

The honest setup:
  • A journal or sketchbook — I'm using a Strathmore Visual Journal ($8-12) but a composition notebook ($3) works perfectly
  • Watercolors — Koi Water Color set ($12) is my go-to, or grab a Crayola watercolor palette ($4) if you're just starting
  • Glue stick — Elmer's ($1-2), nothing fancy needed
  • Something to write with — ballpoint pen, marker, whatever you have

That's it. Seriously. The $200 supply sets are beautiful but they are NOT required.

Your Turn

What's shifting for you right now? The season? Your energy? Something you can't quite name yet?

Make a page about it. However it comes out is exactly right.

And hey — if you want to share, I'd love to see. Tag me or just tell me about it in the comments. This community is the best part of this whole thing.

There's no wrong way to respond to this prompt. A page with one color wash and a single word counts. A page covered in layers and collage counts. Whatever feels true to you is what belongs on your page.

Go make something that honors the in-between. You're allowed to not have it all figured out yet.