Try one of these transformational courses

Color archetypes is a spiritual-artistic method to identify and understand the source of energies available to us from the day we were born – core energy, connection energy, and spiritual energy.

These three energies, inherent parts of us, navigate and shape our lives. Understanding them will help us live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

Mixed media art journal is another name for the visual journal or art journal.

In the visual journal, we use lots of mixed media techniques and materials to create a spread, which is a full page in our journal.

Mixed media is a new form of artistic language that allows total freedom to mix and match different materials and mediums.

Picasso is considered the first artist who used paper, cloth, paint, and rope to create a pseudo-3D effect on his canvasses.

There are different types of mixed media art: collage, assemblage, and altered books.

In the last 30 years, many people discovered how everyone could be an artist only by using a combination of materials.

For example- you can use watercolors as background, then glue thorn collage images, and then use acrylic colors to connect all the parts of the collage.

This approach wasn’t possible in the past; every artist focused on one primary medium and learned all the techniques to be great in this medium.

My method SoulPages is based on mixed media art, and you can see lots of samples on my site.

Mixed media art journal- why is it good for you?

• Freedom of using any material and technique that you like
• Exploring new materials allows you to connect with your inner artist.
• You don’t have to be a professional artist to create beautiful art.
• Just play! Any combination of materials and techniques can create stunning pages.
• Using a visual journal is a great way to explore endless possibilities of materials combinations.
• Different materials have a unique effect on our psyche, and it’s a great way to explore them in your visual journal
• The wealth of materials to use in your journal creates a feeling of wonder and excitement.
• Mixed media art journal is one of the best ways to connect with yourself and get insights.

How can you develop your mixed media skills?

In every lesson I teach, I incorporate lots of different materials and techniques and the internal process of growth and development.

I would love to invite you to join one of my online courses, where you can learn to create stunning pages with lots of mixed media techniques.

Online Courses

Try one of these transformational courses

Color archetypes is a spiritual-artistic method to identify and understand the source of energies available to us from the day we were born – core energy, connection energy, and spiritual energy.

These three energies, inherent parts of us, navigate and shape our lives. Understanding them will help us live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

The visual journal can be a valuable tool for art therapists, but they have to learn how to use it in a healing and therapeutic way.

As an art therapist, I discovered the visual journal as one of the tools bit I couldn’t find any straightforward suggestions on how to use it in therapy sessions.

I started to work in a journal in 2013 to heal myself, and I used it for a whole year when my mother was dying of cancer.

I developed my method, “SoulPages,” to spread the visual journal as a transformative tool. Still, I got many questions about the benefits of using the visual journal as a therapeutic tool in private sessions of art therapists.

In this article, I want to explain how art therapists can use visual journals in private sessions.

I will use the term art therapy journal to define it from the visual journal.

Any art therapist can work with the visual journal according to the seven elements: Intention, background, images, color, line, text and magical coincidence.

you can read more about the elements in this blog post

SoulPages Journaling and the seven elements

how to use art therapy journal

• As a therapist, you can suggest the journal to your client as a medium to work in during the sessions
• You can create the journal from scratch and use thick paper that allows for mixed media materials and techniques.
• Use the seven elements as layers to create a meaningful spread.
• Start with Intention and ask your client to tell you his/her story.
• After the story, let your client prepare a background in any techniques that you think are appropriate for the story.
• Apply images that symbolize parts or people in your client’s life
• connect the images with colors and lines.
• Ask your client to add words that summarize what he feels right now.
• When the client finishes the work, you can try and get some insights and discover the magical coincidences in the artwork.
• After a few sessions, you will start discovering art and symbolic language that is typical to your client.
• Let your client take the art therapy journal home so he/she can continue working on it in between sessions.

Art therapy journal VS visual journal

Only certified art therapists should create an art therapy journal with their clients because this tool is powerful, and it is advisable to do it in the presence of an art therapist.

Processes like transference, countertransference, and projection could occur within the art journal, and the therapist has to be qualified to stand difficult emotions.

This type of art journal can be created in private or group therapy.

A visual journal is a tool that anyone can use, either by himself or with a facilitator’s guidance.

I developed SoulPages as a method of visual journaling that is not an art therapy but is a method that can help people connect with their inner forces and discover their internal symbolic art language.

In SoulPages, you can learn how to facilitate groups and people in creating a safe space to discover their true potential.

In the last eight years since I started teaching the SoulPages facilitator course, I discovered that around 40% of the facilitators are art therapists looking to learn more about this amazing tool.

If you want to read more about this method you can try here

https://en.visualjournal.co.il/courses/soulpages-vjj-facilitator-program/

Try one of these transformational courses

Color archetypes is a spiritual-artistic method to identify and understand the source of energies available to us from the day we were born – core energy, connection energy, and spiritual energy.

These three energies, inherent parts of us, navigate and shape our lives. Understanding them will help us live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

watercolor journal book

Watercolor journaling is a practice of art journaling dedicated to one medium-watercolor.

Watercolors are a fantastic medium to explore in your journal; it has so many techniques, and it allows you to paint your images and create small sketches of your daily practices and routines.

Watercolors are also an extraordinary medium that helps you create magical coincidence backgrounds.

If you want to learn more about magical coincidence with watercolors, you can visit my blog.

In my journals, I always use watercolor as the base of any spread because this material is so versatile.

I use watercolor journaling when I travel to grasp special moments and create memories.

Watercolor journaling-what are the benefits?

• Using mainly one material in your journal can allow for more depth of creation
• It’s great for documenting daily scenes for your journal
• The colors flow and interact with each other in ways that allow interpretation and insights
• It’s a great medium to combine with collage to create beautiful spreads in your journal
• Watercolors don’t stick, so it’s perfect for journals or notebooks that need to be closed.
• You can learn a lot about yourself when you use watercolors as a daily practice.

How to be more creative with watercolors?

In my new method- color archetype- I use watercolor journaling to connect with colors as energies that affect my life.

I started working in the visual journal eight years ago during a challenging period of my life, my mother was dying of cancer, and the visual journal gave me relief and insights. I loved colors, and I liked images, but when I checked my journals, I found that most of my work was related to watercolor.

And so I created and developed the “SoulPages” method, a method of creation that consists of seven elements of which color is one.

But when I checked the hundreds of works I had created in my journal, I realized that color is the most potent element.

I used watercolor in a healing way for myself, and it helped me create works that gave me energy and allowed me insights and understandings that changed my life.

In recent years and thanks to the regular work in the visual journal combined with spiritual inquiry, I have developed the method “Colors archetypes.”

This process allows healing through the use of energies and frequencies that different colors bring to our lives.

If you want to learn more about how I use watercolor in my journals you can try one of my online courses.

https://en.visualjournal.co.il/digital-courses/

watercolor journaling

Watercolor art journaling is an art practice that is concentrated in the medium of watercolor.

whenever I travel abroad, I always take a watercolor set and my art journaling kit with me.

This is all I need in order to enjoy myself and create beautiful watercolor art journaling spreads that capture the essence of the places I visit.

In this post, I want to take you through a few of my watercolor art journaling techniques so you can start creating when you travel.

I just want to remind you that I create SoulPages with the seven elements: Intention, magical coincidence, background, color, image, line, and text.

Watercolors allow me to add layers to my art journaling soul pages.

If you want to read more about SoulPages method you can check this link

https://soul-pages.com/blog/

Watercolor art journaling kit- what will you need?

• A good set of artist-grade watercolors( pan or tubes)
• An art journal with watercolor paper
• A black permanent marker (0.3-0.5)
• White posca
• White gel pen
• A few images from old books, magazines
• glue
• scissors

primary color’s background.

The first great watercolor art journaling technique that I will teach you is primary color’s background.

For this technique, I will need the three primary colors: red, blue, and yellow.

You Start with one primary color that goes from one corner of the page.

Then you continue with the 2nd primary color from the 2nd corner until you “meet” the first color.

Let the two-color blend with more water.

Now add the 3rd primary color from the 3rd corner until it “meets” with one of the other colors, blend it in with water.

with wet brush paint over the white spaces of the page.

Let the colors drip and blend naturally.

Can you see secondary colors that were created naturally?

Add more pigment to the corners of the page to create contrast.

Wild watercolor technique

Start with a wide brush full of color and draw an organic stroke all over the page- let your hand move freely until you created a kind of “doodle” all over the page.

with a second color create “marks” with the wet-on-wet technique.( applying wet color on wet areas)

continue to fill up the page with wide strokes and “mark making” techniques- you can use different tools such as sticks,  thin brushes etc.

Fill your brush with diluted white acrylic and with another stick just hit the brush and “spray” the white color all over the background.

Secondary colors technique+ salt/alcohol

secondary colors are the colors that are created from any combination of two primary colors, blue and yellow create green, red and blue create purple, yellow and red create orange.

In this technique, we will create background from only two primary colors in a meditative, slow way until the secondary color will be created in the middle of the spread.

We will use very thin layers of colors.

When the page is still wet play with raw salt and 90% alcohol drops.

Let the spread dry before you get rid of the excess salt.

Summery

watercolors are a great medium to explore in our art journal.

if you want to learn more about SoulPages method and learn lots of fun techniques you can look at my book “Layers of Meaning”

https://soul-pages.com/the-book-layers-of-meaning-is-released/

 If you are interested to become a SoulPages facilitator you can read more here

https://soul-pages.com/courses/soulpages-facilitator-training-22-23/

Try one of these transformational courses

Color archetypes is a spiritual-artistic method to identify and understand the source of energies available to us from the day we were born – core energy, connection energy, and spiritual energy.

These three energies, inherent parts of us, navigate and shape our lives. Understanding them will help us live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

mindful art is an art practice that helps us relax and get into a mindfulness state when we are creating. It’s not about the outcome; it’s about the process of using materials and expressing ourselves.

We use lots of mindful art activities and exercises in the visual journal that promote happiness and joy. The visual journal is a safe space for creating, it encourages feelings of gratitude, self-acceptance, and empowerment.

In my method SoulPages I discovered that it is possible to meditate throughout the seven elements: Intention, magical coincidence, background, color, line, image, and text.

If you take each of the elements and concentrate on it, you can achieve a state of relaxation and transformation.

If you want to learn more about the 7 elements you can join this free course

The red violin

mindful art and the seven elements

if you take any of the seven elements, you can create endless mindful art activities that will help you transform your life.

• Intention activity– close your eyes and scan your body, now take a pen and just draw the shape of your body and fill it with different colors according to your sensations.
• Magical coincidence activity-pick up leaves that you found on the street or when you walk in nature and start painting on them with posca markers
• Background activity-use the gelly plate to create a mystical uncontrollable background
• Color activity– draw a painting with only the 3 basic colors-blue, red, yellow.
• Line activity– doodle for 15 minutes with only one pen. just move your hand on the page to create lines. we also call this activity- mark-making
• Text activity– write whatever comes into your mind for 10 minutes. If you don’t have any ideas- write- I don’t have any ideas…over and over again.

SoulPages method is all about creating a practice of mindful art

I developed SoulPages method to encourage people to discover their hidden inner artist that wants to create for the sake of playing, discovering, and also achieving meditative states.

In SoulPages we learn to trust the process and befriend our inner critic.

when our inner critic is resting, we can enter into a state of flow and reach levels of consciousness that are hidden.

Through SoulPages journaling we can connect with our unconscious and discover so many treasures.

The SoulPages facilitator course allows you to become your own facilitator, you could learn valuable lessons on how to create mindfully in your journal.

To learn more about SoulPages Facilitator course press here

SoulPages Mentor Training 22-23

mindful doodling

mindful doodling is a meditative technique to help us connect inward and focus on the present moment.

I use mindful doodling exercises to help my students slow down, calm themselves, and be more present.

In SoulPages journaling method, doodling, which in its essence is a repetitive line, is one of the essential layers of every visual journaling spread.

When we were children, we all used to doodle in boring classes, or when we spoke on the phone, we used to let our hands guide us and create doodles.

When we let our hand lead us without thinking- our mind feels free, and then- our subconscious comes out to play.

Our lives can change dramatically when our subconscious starts “talking” to us.

If you want to learn more you can read about doodling in my book “Layers of Meaning” by Rakefet Hadar.

Mindful doodling- everyone can do it.

To start a practice of mindful doodling, all we have to do is take a black pen and white paper, sit in a quiet place, and just “ let the line go on a walk.”

• focus on your breath and at the same time continue to move your end on the paper
• try to feel- what are the sensation when I’m creating this line?
• Change the shape of your lines, create close shapes vs. open shapes.
• Fill closed shapes with more patterns.
• Let though that occurs in your mind be translated into lines and shapes.
• If you feel the inner critic inside- translate his thoughts into lines and doodles.
• Try to doodle for at least 10 minutes.
• If your inner world is full of thoughts- write a word that summarizes the thought and let it go.

How can you transform your doodles into art?

In SoulPages journaling method, you work with the seven elements of visual journaling. Doodling, in its essence, is a line element.

You can use your mindful doodling exercises as background layers to your spread.

You can also work on the watercolor background and follow the color with doodling.

art and mindfulness

Creating art in your visual journal is a way to combine two fantastic healing fields- art and mindfulness.

Mindfulness is considered to be one of the most healing meditation techniques out there-when you learn to focus on the present moment; you connect with your true inner self.

This is what art journaling is all about!- connecting with our inner true self in a nonjudgmental, accepting way.

What really heals?

That’s a question that I’ve always asked myself.

When I started visual journaling, I was in one of the most challenging periods of my life. My mother was dying of cancer, and I knew her days were numbered. I sat by her side or in the hospital hallways and found some small escape for my soul in the pages of the journal. Through the colors, lines, and images, I managed to connect with myself and express some of the pain within me that had no other way of expression.

This practice that I did daily for a whole year felt like meditation, I was so invested in this art and mindfulness practice that I was able to heal myself from all the guilt and shame I experienced in my relationships with my mother.

art and mindfulness- how can you adopt a daily practice?

• create a small art and mindfulness meditation journal with card stock or watercolor paper
• decide on one medium: watercolor, felt pens, colored pencils, and for a whole month draw every day a small painting in your journal.
• when you start painting try to concentrate on the colors and lines and not on the outcome.
• Ask your inner critic, to go for a walk!
• When you finish painting you can close your eyes and meditate on the images that emerge.
• You can dialogue with your images in various imagination techniques such as shamanic journeying or the healing story technique.
• In our visual journal, we discover new art and mindfulness meditation methods.

The SoulPages Method

SoulPages method is based on creating art and using meditative techniques to get insights about ourselves. this is a very transformative process.

In the SoulPages facilitator course, you can learn how to combine art techniques with meditative practices such as guided imagination, shamanic journeying, and voice dialogue.

Try one of these transformational courses

Color archetypes is a spiritual-artistic method to identify and understand the source of energies available to us from the day we were born – core energy, connection energy, and spiritual energy.

These three energies, inherent parts of us, navigate and shape our lives. Understanding them will help us live better, happier, and more fulfilling lives.

In my method SoulPages, I use lots of exercises that I call Meditation art. These exercises create a meditative state of mind and allow inner development, feeling calm and happy.

Jung, the great psychiatrist, painted mandalas to practice inner peace and feel whole. He spoke about art as being meditative and creating states of flow when time passes, and we experience happiness and a unique feeling of connectedness to our hidden self.

When art therapy as a movement started in the ’70s, one of the ideas was to use art activities to release content from the unconscious to the conscious and create insights through using material and techniques in a free, nonjudgmental way.

Meditation art is one step farther; it means that you can meditate while you are creating in your visual journals.

All you have to do is use the seven elements of visual journaling separately and keep on creating in a repetitive motion without planning or having any desire for a particular outcome.

If you want to learn more of the Seven elements, you can do this free workshop.

The basics of Meditation art

• Create with only one material at a time.
• Use repetitive patterns and techniques.
• Don’t think! let your hand guides you
• Don’t expect a beautiful outcome- it’s all about the process.
• Notice your breath while you create.
• If you feel judgmental or bored, stop and look at what you have created.
• Use the elements separately (color, line, image, text) to create layers.

How to start meditating in your visual journal?

The most common meditating activity is doodling.

To try doodling, you need a page with any colored background and a black or white thin pen.

Now follow the patterns that the blots of color created and mark them.

Don’t think. Just let your hand create small doodles; they don’t have to mean anything now; keep doodling until you feel it’s enough.

You can also try this free tutorial in my blog-its all about creating a state of relaxation with only felt pens and a black pen.

RELAXING WITH COLOR

In my SoulPages Facilitator course, you can create lessons with meditation art activities.

In this intense and developmental course, you could start to understand how our minds work together with artistic elements to release difficult emotions and promote happiness and health.

meditation spiritual art

Meditation spiritual art is a form of art practice that involves meditation practice such as mindfulness and aims for spiritual development.

Since art therapy started to develop in the ’60s, it was accepted that art-making could contribute to mental and physical health.

It is also known that meditation as a regular habit is a significant positive force that enhances our life and creates well-being.

And lastly, spiritual art-making was always an essential part of lots of tribal communities worldwide.

In Color Archetypes, I created a powerful method of artistic expression that incorporates meditation, mantra making, and spiritual development with colors and images.

meditation spiritual art- what are the benefits?

• A daily meditation spiritual art practice will promote your health and well-being.
• You can create unique simple art that reflects your inner world
• Get powerful insights from your art that can improve your life.
• Learn how to articulate mantras that can transform and heal your life
• connect with your individual color map.
• Enjoy the different energies and healing that colors bring to your life.
• Learn how to use art mantras as a regular habit that will change your life.

The connection between Color, meditation, and the spiritual path

There are many theories that link our complex soul to theories of color.

Our aura colors, chakra colors, Native American color wheel and more are all an attempt to express the richness and complexity of our soul.

Our soul is like a beautiful diamond which is made up of several components, these components can be called energies and any such energy can be seen in a particular color so that we can understand how these energies work together to allow our soul to be expressed in the world.

 The three energies that make up our soul are the core energy, the other energy, and the spiritual energy.

In Color Archetypes,I chose to use the language of colors to describe the energies that make up our souls.

The three basic colors – red, blue, yellow – make up all the colors in the universe, and respectively – the three basic energies of the soul can create an infinity of possibilities in our lives.

To express the energies of the soul – I chose to attach one basic color to each energy. The uniqueness of the “Color Archetypes” method compared to other methods of color healing is the ability of each one to arrange for himself the color map according to his intuitive and personal connection to the primary colors.

Meditation art therapy

Meditation art therapy is a set of art journaling visual exercises that are meditative and allow for healing.

Everyone can do meditation art therapy simple exercises. However, it is proven that a regular routine of working in our art journal can contribute to our daily well-being and happiness.

I have worked as an art therapist since 2012, and I was always fascinated by how meditative art exercises contribute to my client’s health. This is why I decided to develop my method of visual journaling for adults called SoulPages.

SoulPages method is built on seven elements: Intention, Magical coincidence, Background, line, color, image, and text.

Some of the elements like line and text are very meditative.

For example- doodling is a technique of meditation art therapy; when you doodle around the watercolor background, you start to experience meditative states.

If you want to watch a short tutorial about doodling, you can find it here

https://soul-pages.com/relaxing-with-color/

Meditation art- a self-care therapy

These are a few suggestions for meditation art therapy activities

The basics of Meditation art with the line element

•    Create with only one tool at a time( marker, pencil).
•    Use repetitive lines.
•   Draw until you fill-up the page with shapes.
•     Don’t think! let your hand guides you
•   Try different kinds of lines- closed, open, dash lines, etc
•    Don’t expect a beautiful outcome-its all about the process.
•     Notice your breath while you create.
•    If you feel judgmental or bored, stop looking at what you have created and write the words that come to your mind
• After you fill up the page- you can color it any way you want.

Winnicott and the squiggle game

Donald Winnicott, a well-known children psychiatrist,  used to play with his patients the squiggle game. He used to divide the page into six parts, and he would start with asking his clients to do a quick squiggle- then he would continue the squiggle into an image and give it a name.

After that, they switched roles, Winnicote would draw a squiggle, and his client would turn it into an image.

In the end, they would create a story of all six squiggle images that they created together.

Usually, the story was a metaphoric story that was very relevant to the client’s life.

This activity was very meditative and therapeutic.

I was influenced by Winnicott to create a process for the SoulPages facilitator’s course.

In this process, you create a journal cover that is full of line meditative exercises.

If you want to learn a new exciting profession and become a SoulPages facilitator you can read about the training here

https://soul-pages.com/courses/soulpages-facilitator-training-22-23/

This training aims to create professional facilitators that can help people grow and transform with the tool of the visual journal and the seven elements.