30 Minutes of Art Journaling for 30 Days

A journal changes quickly when it is opened every day. 30 minutes is enough to start something. More importantly, it is enough to return. A 30-day art journaling practice is less about completing perfect spreads and more about staying connected to the process long enough for patterns, materials, and ideas to begin building on one another.

AMBER WALKER⎟ ART JOURNALING SPRING 2025

A New Routine

Amber Walker shares in Art Journaling Spring 2025 how she began her 30 for 30 experiment: “For days and months, my morning routine unraveled into scrolling through social media. I would sit with my coffee and lose myself in strangers’ digital worlds. Often, the clock ticked by until an unreasonable amount of time had passed. It caused frantic running around to ready myself for my actual life. I felt chaotic and unsettled. I knew it was in my power to change this carelessly formed routine. Instead of picking up my phone, I would place my hands on color and possibility. 

After examining my morning routine, I landed on 30 minutes a day for art-making, and it became my new commitment.”

Beginning Before There Is a Plan

A 30-minute session leaves little room for hesitation. There is not enough time to overthink composition or search endlessly through supplies. Most sessions begin with whatever is already on the table: a partially used paint palette, scraps left from another project, a background started beforehand.

This changes the way pages develop. Instead of building toward a fully imagined result, the work evolves through response. One layer suggests another. Consequently, the journal develops continuity without forcing it.

STEPHANIE FIELDEN⎟ ART JOURNALING SPRING 2024

Making Discoveries

Stephanie Fielden, who also started her own 30-day challenge, shares how she approached it in Art Journaling Spring 2024: “I made an effort to start differently on each page and use a variety of techniques and materials. The purpose was to discover new processes and allow space to indulge in any desires, whether playful, intuitive, or intentional.

Specific techniques I tried for the first time included applying paint with a brayer, trace monotype, and cutting through pages to create flaps or to weave in double-sided paper I printed with a gel plate so adjacent pages could interact with each other. I tried starting with collage, asemic writing, drawing, solid acrylic color, and drippy watercolor. A common challenge with mixed-media is integrating disparate elements so they belong together. Some techniques I used to this end were to incorporate translucent collage elements, glaze over multiple elements with paint or thin gesso, overlap distinct areas with line work in a coordinating color, let bits of an initial overall color peek through, and repeat colors across media — all serve to unify.”

MILAGROS C RIVERA⎟ ART JOURNALING SUMMER 2023

When the Practice Begins to Expand

Many 30-day projects begin modestly and gradually grow beyond their original boundaries. Collage begins appearing between written passages. Pressed flowers, photographs, ephemera, and layered drawings find their way into the spreads. What began as a small daily exercise can slowly become a container for ongoing creative work. 

Set aside 30 minutes, open the journal, and see what begins to take shape over the next 30 days. For more inspiration, explore the pages of Art Journaling.