Artist Journaling As Votive Art

By now, most of you know exactly what artist journaling (AJ) is, but what the heck is votive art, and what does it have to do with what we do here at Iaconagraphy, and what you might be doing with our yummy digital assets? 

Votive Art: art that is offered, performed, or created in fulfillment of a vow, or in gratitude or devotion.

The image at the head of this post is a piece of digital votive art.  So are these:

Votive art can be created as a gift for Deity for some blessing which has come into your life (which is the case with all three of these), as an act of devotion (in the same way one might sing a hymn), or as the fulfillment of a vow (i.e., you promise Deity you are going to make something beautiful in their honor, and then you actually do).  Votive art can also act as sort of a “digital altar”: you may not have enough room on a physical altar for all of the images you create (or even for one more item, for that matter, even if it’s just a tiny piece of printed paper), but how might it change your life if you could set a piece of votive art that you’ve created as your desktop on your computer? Or as the main screen on your phone? Or maybe even as a Facebook header or avatar?  

We’ve spoken (briefly) in the past about paper magick, but the concept of votive art sets that concept completely apart from active spellwork (which, let’s face it, a lot of you are coming at this from a Christian background, and are probably wondering where you fit into this topic at all, and y’all definitely aren’t doing spellwork, at least not in the classical sense of that word).  And paper magick is great (I do it every chance I get, and no, I don’t mean active spellwork–I mean creating with paper for the glory of Deity, ala the Christian verse, Romans 12:1), but let’s face it, we live in a digital world.  Most of us are going to be spending far more time with pixels than with paper, and wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could find a way to actively bring our spirituality into that digital world?

Digital AJ as votive art makes that completely possible, and not just for Druidic-based Heathens like me, but for any of you, no matter what your Faith-base.  In the Determined to Shine 30 Days of Artist Journaling Group on Facebook, I have seen some of the most beautiful and heartfelt Christian votive art you’ve ever laid eyes on! It’s so honest; so deeply felt, and it frequently hits me right in the heart.  This isn’t just a concept for the “Pagan Community”; it’s actually a thing that’s as old as time, I’m just working to get you looking at it in a different way.

We are, in fact, called Iaconagraphy in the first place because it is a play on the term iconagraphy, particularly as it relates to religious iconagraphy.  (Iacona, of course, being the last name of the woman who makes all this amazing-ness possible!)  

Iconagraphy: the traditional or conventional images or symbols associated with a subject and especially a religious or legendary subject.

So I think it’s high time we discussed the offerings here at Iaconagraphy in that context, and in the process, talked about what you can do with all of these assets in that context.  I’ve honestly considered at some point offering an online course on the topic, in a similar vein to Tangie Baxter’s courses on Symbology (I’d love to get feedback on how many would be interested in such a thing!).  For now, though, this blog entry will let us all “dip our toes” in that particular pond.

Where does one start with creating a piece of votive art?  Let’s talk about that specifically with a gratitude focus (because I’m feeling particularly thankful right now, and because gratitude is something we could all use a little bit more of in our lives).  When someone does something particularly nice for us, we might send them a thank you card, right? Why can’t we do the same thing to God/dess?  

• Start by thinking of something for which you are particularly grateful, and which you know would never have happened without Deity. (Which can be literally anything!) 
• What color does that thing for which you are showing gratitude make you feel?  Something having to do with money might feel green, for example; something having to do with health issues or healing might feel red or purple.  Choose your background paper based on this. (If you’re coming from a Pagan/Heathen base, there might be specific color correspondences that relate to the particular Deity you’re thanking, or to the “subject matter” of what you’re giving thanks for; use that!)
• You may have elements or photographs which relate to the thing for which you are giving thanks (or even to the particular Deity you’re thanking).  Start choosing your elements (and photographs) based on this. If you have photographs, you may also want to start thinking in the direction of which page blends/photo masks to employ in the creation of your page.
• Start arranging your elements and photographs in a way that feels both pleasant and grateful. (In other words, you want it to be aesthetically pleasing, because, I mean, who wants an ugly thank you card? But you also want to infuse the image you are creating with your personal gratitude.) I strongly recommend working in layers!
• Once your images have been arranged, create a layer for your journal blocks and journaling.  You may not want journal blocks; you may wish to write directly on the background paper, or even on one of the elements or the image itself: that’s okay! Do what feels right to you!
• When everything is “just so”, merge layers and save in whatever format suits your needs.

And what should you do with this votive art, now that you’ve created it?  You can set it as your desktop on your computer/laptop, or as your phone’s main screen, as a way of “sending” it (as far as I know, Deity doesn’t have a physical mailing address!), or if you’re bold, you can post it to Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, and remind the world to be a little more grateful, too. And, of course, you can always feel free to come over to the Iaconagraphy Page and share with all of us there! You can also, if you feel so inclined, actually print it out and place it on your altar (or even on a bulletin board/vision board in your home).  

This is definitely a practice and a topic which is personally speaking to me right now, and which is creating blessings in my life which I honestly never would have dreamed possible (until they actually happened!).  If any of you would like me to further explore (and give a mini-step-by-step like the one above) on votive art from a devotional or vow-fulfilling perspective as well, just let me know in the comments below, or comment at Facebook. And if you’re interested in an actual online course on AJ as votive art, feel free to let me know that in the comments below or on Facebook, as well. Our 2017 promise to all of you to be “unboxed, uncaged, and unfettered” seems to be resonating with many of you, and this is definitely in line with that, and it feels spectacular!