I drew myself in the box. This year I find my main mojo thief is the formation of a mental construct of “my style”. I’m really not entirely sure I have one but I’m beginning to form an impression of what other people see as my style and the “not my style” messages are starting to box me in from trying things outside of those parameters.
It’s a balance to both hone some promising techniques rather than giving in to total chaos but also keeping it fresh through being open to new ideas, materials and techniques. When it tips too much towards “not my style” I feel in a box.
It’s interesting that this struggle echoes one I had earlier in life when a construct of “the real me” led me to feel confused and guilty when I acted in ways that I viewed as “out of character”. Since my “real me” was a very lofty best of myself I spent a lot of time feeling like a failure. Hopefully the lessons learned then about all of us being a gestalt of selves can be applied to art journalling and I can avoid this trap laid out by my mojo thief.