Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have a shelf full of art-journaling books - many of them lovely to look at, filled with inspiring work, but hardly any designed to function as a private and fully-detailed class on how to actually create a body of work throughout the course of a year your own. This book is the exception. Hands down, the best book I own on really guiding me through various ways to create unique and personally meaningful pages, how to make and maintain a routine for creativity, and with enough options and flexibility to guide you to create spreads that reflect who you are and what you see/do. Ms. Armfield has a wonderfully logical and makes-sense approach to starting this journey - especially for those who are new to mixed-media art journaling and are trying to find their own personal style. People like me. I have made attempts in the past, but either my pages looked like something not-quite-my-own, or I'd find myself frustrated with my pages, not knowing where to go or what to do. This book has helped me push past both of these obstacles... and finally grasp being able to develop a routine I look forward to. Most of all, I love that Ms. Armfield's approach to collage and mixed media is actually personally meaningful. I've never been comfortable with artists who effectively say, "just glue some stuff down, and paint and stamp and write and doodle over it". In my mind, if the pieces and techniques you chose to put down don't have or express meaning, what's the point? Ms. Armfield has a different approach - helping you to evaluate your own likes/dislikes, your feelings and your preferences, and guides you to chose things deliberately, whether it involves color, image, collage ephemera or text. I finally feel like my pages are coming to life from MY vision and they make sense have true meaning ... not just a collection of visually interesting random-ness. If you want to get started with art-journaling - in whatever media, from collage to sketching to any combination of - this is a must-have book. If you already are into your artistic journey, this book will definitely shed some new and meaningful insight on how to approach a year-long journaling project. Excellent, excellent material and book. Thank you Ms. Armfield!