Live as if you were to die tomorrow.
Learn as if you were to live forever.
Mahatma Gandhi

Celebrating Lifelong Learning Bird

Celebrating Lifelong Learning. A page in my spiral bound Art Journal from 2005!


I think life is a long learning opportunity, if we allow it to. To learn new things is super fun too. That’s why I love reading books, trying out new things and experiment with my art. To learn new things though we’ve got to keep an open mind. In Buddhism there is an expression that is called a beginners mind (shoshin). It does not mean that we should stay ignorant, but instead cultivate a mind of curiosity! And when we do know something, to be humble about it so that we can learn even more.

For example, I think I know lots about art journaling, at least art journaling “my style” and what I like to do in both mixed media art and inside my books…

Then when I came upon the Art Journal page above, one I did back in 2005, I noticed the title: Celebrating Lifelong Learning. I guess lifelong learning has been on my mind for many years. And it got me thinking about how I could take this page further. Maybe remake it into something better to my liking?

Because I still remember the feeling of being disappointed with this page and how it looked when I was finished. I imagined it would come out a cool mixed media like bird, but instead it looks like kindergarten art. So when I came upon the blog post about it, now many years later, I got the idea that I should re-do this bird. As an exercise, and to see if I could make something that I felt more at ease with. Had I learned anything new in all these years? So I set out to replicate it but with freedom…

This is the page that I created, and actually I don’t like it at all:

Remade bird number 2

Celebrating Lifelong Learning. My second red bird was made in a hand bound art journal in 2013.

I tried to hard. I didn’t really feel happy when I made it. I was looking more on Bird 1 than on the bird at hand…

So the second attempt is even less me. I do not like it because it is so forced and un-free. It’s like a followed a step-by-step tutorial by someone else. Like I wish to be cool and free, and that wish totally took out the joy of creating for me. The page next to it is much more free and iHanna like:

Art Journal Peek: Celebrating

I even had this blog post planned out in my head when I did the second bird, with a life lesson about re-making your Art Journal pages and taking them further… It has been sitting in my drafts folder since last year, because how could I post two ugly birds and let that be a lesson in giving up? Thinking that the second bird would be something fun to blog about might even have been the reason it turned out to be such a bad experience for me… I was thinking more about what you guys would think than what I would like. That’s not a good way to do art!

Then the more I look at Bird number 1 the more I actually like it’s wonky look. It’s kind of cute, actually. And maybe I will love Bird number 2 in 10 years, but in lieu of the time passing I decided to give it another go this week. Third time’s the charm, right?

Celebrating Lifelong learning 1 + 2

Late at night, I just did it, without much thinking. I didn’t add in the title or all the details this time. I just went for a painted page, cut to look like a bird on a yellow page – with a collaged human eye (again). And finally I feel content about my bird.

Remade bird number 3

I do not think it is much “cooler” or “more artsy” than the first try, but I know it is the iHanna Style of right now (just like the first bird was my art journaling style in 2005!). Instead of showing of my learning since then, I got to show myself that good art never is made to show off!

I feel my mission is over. Now it’s your turn – your prompt served up. Let me know how it goes.