Students at Bronx Science are often so caught up in schoolwork and extracurriculars that hobbies leave the picture. Luckily, during quarantine, we can still observe hobbies that we would otherwise like to have when school is in session. If you are into journaling as a hobby, you should know about DORI, a YouTube channel that focuses on art journaling. This is a form of creative collaging done in a notebook that records daily events, thoughts, and activities. The owner of the channel is a young South Korea-based artist whose identity remains anonymous to this day.

DORI films her art journaling process from the drawings she pastes into her notebook to the words that she writes. Each little detail is documented by the camera. The artist uses watercolor and a ballpoint pen to make illustrations that are either on a separate piece of paper pasted into the book or drawn directly on the notebook page. “My favorite part of the video was when the artist was adding color to her sketches. It added a lot of character to each drawing,” said Amayel Ka ’22. 

Bronx Science students were deeply intrigued by the ambiance of the video. “The background music, the colors, even the way that the text came onto the screen all matched each other and made the video feel whole,” said Chelone Laws ’22. “It was really calming, especially with the intro and the soft music. It made me feel happy and inspired to create,” said Saige Wu ’23. The calming effects of the video come from the music and the imagery. Because everything is so minimalistic, the video pleases the eyes and the ears and helps ease the mind. 

YouTube videos often inspire people to create. As humans, we often find ourselves attempting to imitate or recreate art that resonates with us. This may be because what is depicted hits home, or simply because one would like to experience what is depicted. “The video made me feel nostalgic and maybe regretful that I didn’t do an art journal or any journal at all that I consistently updated. There’s also this bigger feeling I’m getting that isn’t quite regret, and it’s not loss, either. Maybe wistful is the right word,” said Jeffery Luo ’20. Art journaling is often used to log daily events, as events can be depicted through both images and words. “I think that art journaling would be a good way for people to express themselves, not only through writing, but also through drawing,” said Anne Wang ’23. 

The lighting of the videos is done so that it appears to be nighttime when the channel creator is journaling. This might be because the nighttime atmosphere calms the mind. “The video made me feel really cozy. I think I can attribute this to the music. It almost felt as if I was in an empty cafe,” said Ka ’22. Imagine drawing and writing your thoughts into a notebook while you sit in an empty cafe at 9 p.m. At nighttime, there are fewer people awake, and more room for thoughts. Perhaps this is the appeal of the art journaling community and other online creative communities that exist out there.

To view DORI, click HERE.

“The video made me feel really cozy. I think I can attribute this to the music. It almost felt as if I was in an empty cafe,” said Amayel Ka ’22.