Do you have a word for the year or start a new journal at the beginning of the year?
This is a later start than normal for my word of the year, but the past few years have not been normal, so I’m giving myself grace and space, and enjoying getting back into art journaling my word for 2024. I’m fairly certain this will not be my only journal about my word this year, but it’s been a great place to begin.
My Word for the Year - WONDER
One reason I landed on the word ‘Wonder’ is because the past year I’ve spent a lot of time wondering: “I wonder what is going on?” and on the other hand, being in nature and times of reflection, I’ve been filled with wonder, appreciating beauty and being blessed in the presence of God. There is so much NEW for me right now, I’m looking forward to 2024 being Wonder-full!
Each year I look up the definition of a word in various dictionaries and write out relevant findings in my journal. Then I write out the word in an artful way and list the definitions below the word, as shown in the journal above. I’m drawn to Vintage style these days, so the idea of childlike wonder in a nostalgic style reflects my current word and creative vibe.
Wonder
Something or someone surprising, beautiful, strange, amazing, puzzling or admirable
to feel surprise, astonishment or admiration
a marvel, miracle, or miraculous deed, or even, a surprising circumstance
to be interesting in learning; to be curious to know more; to think or speculate with curiosity
to ask a question or make a polite request
Next steps when feeling stuck
Normally the next thing I do is look up verses in the Bible and quotes to add to my journal and revisit throughout the year. I will do that, but this time my process is a little different.
A few months ago I made an accordion journal, with the help of my new Vintage stencils, listing some basic poetry structures. I also made another journal out of watercolor paper in hopes to fill it with poetry.
Recently, it’s been a challenge to write down my thoughts and feelings, so I thought having a structure to write in might help. At first, I felt at a loss of where to begin, and then remembered a vacation from the past where at the end of each day, we each said a Haiku about the day. It was really fun and became a challenge on who could come up with the funniest poem. That is what prompted to begin with the simple Haiku poetry structure of three lines using a syllable pattern of 5-7-5.
I also opened a Word document and typed out some of the poetry structures, the names and numbers of syllables in a Vintage style font. Then I typed some of the poems I’ve written so I could print, paint, and cut them to include in my journal, along with handwritten ones.
Using the easy Haiku structure of 3 lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5, I began with how I felt:
“Writing others’ words
Afraid of using my own
To express myself”
Then I moved on to writing a Haiku about poetry itself:
“A poem gives structure
A container for feelings
Poured out of the heart”
Mixing it together writing about how I feel about writing poetry:
“Risk writing it down
Begin to put it in words
My heart on paper”
Of course there is Free Verse poetry too, that doesn’t have a structure and now I felt more ready for it. I’ve found when I feel stuck, taking action within a structure can be helpful. This process helped me get unstuck. Now I’m excited to include my own poetry in my journal:
“Poetry:
My
heart
inked out
on paper”
Ready for Wonder
Now I felt ready to tackle my word as a poem. One of the next forms of poetry I followed is Cinquain with a syllable pattern of 1-2-3-4-1 or 2-4-6-8-2. This time I focused on my word Wonder.
“Hope
expect
miracles
wild with wonder
awe”
“Wonder
Welcomes surprise
With curiosity
Celebrating the beautiful
Amazed”
https://www.valeriesjodin.com/blog/art-in-real-life-12-poetry-word-of-the-year-journal
In this journal I am really enjoying adding pen and paint doodles to stencil shapes and patterns. A stencil can give a great base to build on. There are a variety of ways to express personal style through doodling, painting, coloring and changing the doodles on the same stencil pattern.
Below is a short speedy reel and you can check out about my process, and there are Vintage stencil tutorials in the last blog post: https://www.valeriesjodin.com/blog/vintage-book-stencil-collection-tutorials You can find out more about the stencils at: https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-valerie-sjodin-s/2044.htm
https://www.stencilgirlproducts.com/stencils-valerie-sjodin-s/2044.htm
More Word of the Year info
Under journals in the top dropdown menu, you will find a Word of the Year Section that includes tutorials about a Word of the Year, and examples I hope you will find inspiring: https://www.valeriesjodin.com/word-year-calendar-everyday-journals
Also, on my blog, there are numerous posts that talk about a word for the year. Here is a link to one of them: https://www.valeriesjodin.com/blog/how-to-choose-a-word-of-the-year?rq=Word%20of%20the%20Year Click on the button to see more links to Word of the Year blog posts:
What about You?
Do you have a word for the year? I’d love to hear your word and if you’d like to share, how or why you chose it.
Would you be interested in a mini art journaling course similar to the journal above? (Writing poetry, making a simple journal, using stencils and embellishing them with pen and paint.)