This documentary inspired a (far more modest) project for me in 2009. I couldn't afford to travel, so I decorated the covers of 20 blank journals and passed them along to creative friends & family, with instructions to reflect and add a note, poem, drawing, artifact --whatever their preferred medium might be-- to describe their "happy place", then hand the journal off to someone else they thought would appreciate the process. The idea was, these journals got to "travel" on my behalf down a chain of random links, eventually coming back to me full of joyful, surprising, enlightening, and grateful perspectives. Ahhh, the anticipation...
Only, most never returned. I begged for years, but lost all but 5 or 6 journals, (two of which were handed back empty, and I got the others only because the users didn't follow the instructions.) It tortured me for a long while, knowing that the fantastic entries of talented friends would remain buried and forgotten under someone else's junk pile.
You might consider it a blessing, then, to know that your selfless little birds are appreciated wherever they land, without the sting of unrequited material returns.
I love that idea! I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the comforting words, too. I feel your pain on the lost journals, but a 30% return rate (even if a couple were empty) isn't terrible. Have you posted photos of those journals anywhere? I'd love to see the covers. -- Best AD
I'm guessing you're familiar with the 1000 journals project? (If not, go asap: https://someguy.is/1000-Journals-Project )
This documentary inspired a (far more modest) project for me in 2009. I couldn't afford to travel, so I decorated the covers of 20 blank journals and passed them along to creative friends & family, with instructions to reflect and add a note, poem, drawing, artifact --whatever their preferred medium might be-- to describe their "happy place", then hand the journal off to someone else they thought would appreciate the process. The idea was, these journals got to "travel" on my behalf down a chain of random links, eventually coming back to me full of joyful, surprising, enlightening, and grateful perspectives. Ahhh, the anticipation...
Only, most never returned. I begged for years, but lost all but 5 or 6 journals, (two of which were handed back empty, and I got the others only because the users didn't follow the instructions.) It tortured me for a long while, knowing that the fantastic entries of talented friends would remain buried and forgotten under someone else's junk pile.
You might consider it a blessing, then, to know that your selfless little birds are appreciated wherever they land, without the sting of unrequited material returns.
And hell yeah, it's art. :)
-Jenny
I love that idea! I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the comforting words, too. I feel your pain on the lost journals, but a 30% return rate (even if a couple were empty) isn't terrible. Have you posted photos of those journals anywhere? I'd love to see the covers. -- Best AD