Art Journaling for Calm & Self-Care

Barbara Howrey
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Self-Improvement
  • Updated Weekly

A gentle podcast for sensitive, creative souls who feel overwhelmed and want calmer, kinder days. Join Barbara, an artist and certified therapeutic art life coach, and creator of the meditative art journal A Garden for the Soul and the Joy of Journaling Circle, for simple art journaling practices using basic supplies. Each episode offers low-pressure prompts to ease stress, tend to your feelings, and build small self-care rituals you can actually keep.

  1. Emotions as Color

    5d ago

    Emotions as Color

    Sometimes emotions are too big — or too tangled — for words. In this episode, we slow down and let color do the talking. You'll settle into a simple grounding practice, then create an Emotions as Color page: a free-flowing, full-page artwork where each color represents something you'recarrying right now. No art experience needed, no right answers — just an honest, gentle look at your inner world. Grab your journal and some color and join me. Resources mentioned Join the ⁠⁠⁠Joy of Journaling Circle⁠⁠⁠ for the companion guide, including the grounding practice written out and your journal page prompt.If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - ⁠⁠⁠A Garden for the Soul ⁠⁠⁠–to gently support your creative self-careThis podcast is here to offer gentle ideas for art journaling and self-care. It's not therapy and it's not a replacement for professional support. If you're having a really hard time, I encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical provider who can walk alongside you. Background music: "Peaceful Nature Meditation Music" by CrystalEyeOfficial (Pixabay) "Meditation Music” by Levgen Poltavskyi, HitsLab (Pixabay)

    16 min
  2. From Emotion to Wisdom (Part 4 of 4)

    Jun 3

    From Emotion to Wisdom (Part 4 of 4)

    In this final episode of our four-part Emotional Awareness & Regulation series, we explore what happens after the hard feeling moves through you — and how to listen to what it's trying to say. Every emotion carries a message, and today you'll learn to receive it. We'll settle in with a grounding practice, then create The Wisdom Letter: a journaling page where you give your emotion a voice and discover what it's been trying to protect, highlight or teach you. This is the fourth episode in a four-part series on emotional awareness and regulation. If you’d like to follow the full journey, look for Episodes 23–26. Grab your journal and join me for this gentle, powerful close to the series. Resources mentioned Join the ⁠⁠Joy of Journaling Circle⁠⁠ for the companion guide, including the grounding practice written out and your journal page prompt.If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - ⁠⁠A Garden for the Soul ⁠⁠–to gently support your creative self-careThis podcast is here to offer gentle ideas for art journaling and self-care. It's not therapy and it's not a replacement for professional support. If you're having a really hard time, I encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical provider who can walk alongside you. Background music: "Peaceful Nature Meditation Music" by CrystalEyeOfficial (Pixabay) "Meditation Music” by Levgen Poltavskyi, HitsLab (Pixabay)

    17 min
  3. What Soothes Me: Emotional Awareness & Regulation (Part 3 of 4)

    May 28

    What Soothes Me: Emotional Awareness & Regulation (Part 3 of 4)

    What do you reach for when you’re overwhelmed? In thisepisode, we’re building something practical and personal: your own soothing toolkit. You’ll explore what genuinely works for your body and personality — body-based, mind-based, and environmental strategies — and bring them to thepage in a warm, creative activity called The Soothing Shelf. No art experience needed. Just a journal, a pen, and a few quiet minutes. Resources mentioned Join the ⁠Joy of Journaling Circle⁠ for the companion guide, including the grounding practice written out and your journal page prompt.If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - ⁠A Garden for the Soul ⁠–to gently support your creative self-careBackground music: "Relax "- Waveloom (Pixabay) "Peaceful Piano Background Music for Relaxation" by Nicholas Panek (Pixabay)

    16 min
  4. What Triggers Me - And why this isn't a problem (Part 2 of 4)

    May 20

    What Triggers Me - And why this isn't a problem (Part 2 of 4)

    Do you ever find yourself more upset than a situation seems to warrant — and not quite sure why? In this episode, I gently unpack what triggers are, why they’re not the problem, and how understanding your own patterns is one of the most compassionate things you can do for yourself. You’ll be guided through a calming grounding practice and then into a reflective art journal activity called The Trailhead Page — a simple, visual way to map the layers beneath your emotional reactions, without judgment and without needing any art experience. This is the second episode in a four-part series on emotional awareness and regulation. If you’d like to follow the full journey, look for Episodes 23–26. Grab your journal and join me for a tender, honest episode that just might change how you see your most difficult moments.  In this episode you’ll: Understand why triggers are information, not flawsBe guided through a grounding practice to settle before exploringCreate The Trailhead Page — a visual map of what triggers you and what lives underneathDiscover why awareness itself — without fixing anything — is a powerful place to beginResources mentioned Join the ⁠Joy of Journaling Circle⁠ for the companion guide, including the grounding practice written out and your journal page prompt.If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - ⁠A Garden for the Soul ⁠–to gently support your creative self-careThis podcast is here to offer gentle ideas for art journaling and self-care. It's not therapy and it's not a replacement for professional support. If you're having a really hard time, I encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical provider who can walk alongside you. Background music: "Peaceful Nature Meditation Music" by CrystalEyeOfficial (Pixabay) "Meditation Music” by Levgen Poltavskyi, HitsLab (Pixabay)

    14 min
  5. Mapping Your Emotional Patterns - Understanding Your Reactions (Part 1 of 4)

    May 11

    Mapping Your Emotional Patterns - Understanding Your Reactions (Part 1 of 4)

    Have you ever reacted to something and wondered where did that even come from? In this episode, we slow down the fast, invisible pattern that runs from thought → feeling → reaction—and we use your art journal to make it visible. Because when you can see the pattern on the page, it begins to loosen its grip. You'll be guided through a simple, grounding meditation and an art journaling activity called The Pattern Map—a gentle visual map of one of your own emotional patterns. No art experience needed. Just a journal, a pen, and a willingness to get a little curious about yourself. This episode is the first in a four-part series on emotional awareness and regulation. Each episode builds on the last, so if you'd like to follow the full journey, look for Episodes 23–26. So, grab your journal and join me for today's quiet, creative practice. Resources mentioned: Join the Joy of Journaling Circle - A nurturing community for art journaling, calm, and creative self-discovery. Download the companion worksheet there!If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - A Garden for the Soul Journal – to gently support your creative self‑care.This podcast is here to offer gentle ideas for art journaling and self-care. It's not therapy and it's not a replacement for professional support. If you're having a really hard time, I encourage you to reach out to a licensed therapist, counselor, or medical provider who can walk alongside you. Background music: "Meditation Relaxing Music" by DanaMusic (Pixabay). "Relaxing Music: Beautiful Nature" by Tung Lam (Pixabay)

    15 min
  6. Grounded in 60 Seconds — The 5-4-3-2-1 Practice

    Apr 29

    Grounded in 60 Seconds — The 5-4-3-2-1 Practice

    Does your brain ever feel so full that you can't find a quiet place to put what you’re carrying down? You're not anxious, exactly —you're just scattered. And that scattered feeling makes everything harder, including creativity. In this episode, I share a simple, fast, and surprisingly powerful grounding technique called 5-4-3-2-1 — a sensory practice that pulls you out of your head and back into the present moment in less than a minute. I also get personal about my own struggles with traditional meditation, and how art journaling became my unexpected way in — and why pairing it with grounding practices like this one makes both more effective. In this episode you'll: Learn why your brain resists stillness (and why that's okay)Be guided through the full 5-4-3-2-1 grounding practiceGet an art journal prompt to capture and extend that calm onto the pageDiscover how to use this technique before journaling, meditating, or any moment you need to come back to yourselfResources mentioned Join the Joy of Journaling Circle for the companion guide, including the grounding practice written out and your journal page prompt.If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - A Garden for the Soul –to gently support your creative self careBackground music: "Peaceful Piano Background Music for Relaxation" by Nicholas Panek (Pixabay) "Zen” by Alexander MGreat, Blue Tree Audio (Soundcloud)

    12 min
  7. Seeing with Fresh Eyes

    Apr 23

    Seeing with Fresh Eyes

    In this uplifting episode of Art Journaling for Calm & Self-Care, we explore the gentle practice of seeing with fresh eyes. So often, we move through daily life on autopilot, barely noticing the familiar things around us. But when we pause, slow down, and look again with curiosity, even ordinary things can reveal quiet beauty. In this episode, I guide you through a calming meditation and a simple art journaling prompt to help you notice something familiar in a new way. You’ll be invited to choose an everyday object or element of nature, observe it closely, and respond through simple art-making and reflection. This gentle practice is a way to reconnect with the present moment, awaken curiosity, and remember that beauty is often closer than we think. You can also go to the Joy of Journaling Circle to download the companion PDF/handout for this episode. If you’d like more support, check out my meditative art journal - A Garden for the Soul Journal –to gently support your creative self‑care Background music: "Peaceful Piano Background Music for Relaxation" by Nicholas Panek (Pixabay) "Zen” by Alexander MGreat, Blue Tree Audio (Soundcloud)

    16 min
  8. Reacting vs Responding: A Gentle Shift

    Apr 16

    Reacting vs Responding: A Gentle Shift

    There’s a moment — sometimes tiny, sometimes charged —between what happens and how we meet it. In that space, we often slip into old patterns: tightening, bracing, rushing, shutting down, or moving on autopilot. Reacting is fast. It’s protective. It’s the nervous system doing its best to keep you safe. Responding is different. It’s slower, steadier, and rooted in awareness rather than urgency. In this episode of Art Journaling for Calm & Self‑Care, we explore the gentle shift from reacting to responding. You’ll learn how to recognize the early signs of reactivity and how to create just a little more space — enough to choose a softer, more grounded way forward. I also guide you through an art journaling activity where you bring this shift onto the page, using simple marks and color to explore what reacting feels like in your body and what responding might look like instead. You can also go to the Joy of Journaling Circle to download the companion PDF/handout for this episode. If you’d like more support, check out my meditative artjournal - A Garden for the Soul Journal –to gently support your creative self‑care Background music: "Peaceful Piano Background Music for Relaxation" by Nicholas Panek (Pixabay) "Zen” by Alexander MGreat, Blue Tree Audio (Soundcloud)

    13 min
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About

A gentle podcast for sensitive, creative souls who feel overwhelmed and want calmer, kinder days. Join Barbara, an artist and certified therapeutic art life coach, and creator of the meditative art journal A Garden for the Soul and the Joy of Journaling Circle, for simple art journaling practices using basic supplies. Each episode offers low-pressure prompts to ease stress, tend to your feelings, and build small self-care rituals you can actually keep.

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