+1999
Even if you are a fairly new visitor to the “tea blog” you may have read my post about the “1000 Journals Project.” If you have not, go HERE and read it so this post will be more appetizing—and make some sense.
After seeing the 1000 JOURNALS documentary, about the project, when it was shown here at the San Francisco International Film Fest and meeting the project’s creator, “Someguy”, and the film’s director, my new friend, Andrea Kreuzhage, I wanted to jump in with more than just my own, current sketchbook. (See photo, of one shelf in my loft/studio of a few of my 160+ recent sketchbooks. Other people have many more. It ain’t a contest, kids.)
I have carried a sketchbook since I was a kid and, virtually everyday since high school—back when paper was still made by hand.)
The popularity of 1000 Journals lead to “Someguy” establishing the 1001 Journals website where anyone can sign up and start their own journal by registering and getting a number. You can use any kind of journal, sketch book, etc. I suppose you could get a number and use it on a fistful of index cards with a rubber band around them. All one needs to do is create a profile and sign up. You (yes even YOU) can also get on the list to have one of the 1001+ journals already registered sent to you. (Look for any “OPEN” journal.)
After meeting “Someguy” he emailed and asked if I would interview my friend Susan (a.k.a author/artist SARK) for the INTERVIEW section or the 1001 site. We hope to complete the interview (words and art) and get it scanned and posted in July—just in time for the release of SARK’s newest book (her 15th) “Juicy Pens, Thirsty Paper.” (Due 5 August at an independent bookstore near you. Check her websites for the dates of her book tour, commencing in August.)
I had already created a profile on the site as "real mcnair." I logged in and grabbed the next available journal, no.2944. That got me thinking (more than usual), “How can I get journal No. 3000?”
I have been watching the sight closely. Today they were up to No. 2996. I worried that there may be few night owls in New Brunswick, Canada, or Knoxville, TN, or certainly there’s an up-all-night artist in NYC’s Soho who together could push us all over the 3000 mark before I visited the site in the morning-or even later tonight.
I pounced.
I signed up for FOUR (count ‘em, 4) new journals.
No.2999 will be a project created by the readers of this blog site. To participate (have the journal sent to you) post a comment, below, at the end of this blog post and tell me a bit about yourself and why you want to be a contributor to Journal No.2999. You needn’t be an artist, writer, or . . . you need only be a reader of “tea blog.”
My request is that you keep the journal for no more than a week so we can get it moving about to others who want to play. You may write, scribble, draw, paint, collage, insert, fold, as you wish. Keep the content “clean.” I suggest the “WWYMS Rule” (What Would Your Mother Say?) I will scan and post sample pages both here and on the 1001 Journals website as we go along.
You may do a couple pages or more, but remember, “You’re not the only one this turkey has to feed, young lady.”
Craft a comment of clarity and pellucidity about yourself. I will contact you for a mailing address.
You will be able to track “our journal” on the 1001 website by clicking on No.2999 in the “Journals” section list.
That’s it. It’s not a contest.
I look forward to reading your comments and sending it off to the first contributor.
For those who have never kept a journal or carried a sketchbook, this is a fun and fairly low risk method of giving it a try. If you love it, start you own with friends far and near or among your “group” (whatever that may be.) If you love it, start a journal that is all yours. This means you can write, draw, paste-into-it-ephemera-you-collect-along-the-trail, and even invite others to join in (or not.)
Onward & upward,
100% McNair
P.S. “What are you going to do with the other three new journals you registered, McNair?” I am so glad you asked. Every journal on the site, no. 1001-3000, has a description of the who-and-how of each journal. (Click on the number in the journals list.) Those marked “OPEN” you can sign-up to have that journal sent to you, when it is your turn. My other three new journals:
No.2997 : (OPEN to all) Mixed media: A journal wherein artists write and writers create art. If you are a writer: draw, paint,or assemble some pages. If you are a visual artist (including sculptors, photographers, film makers): write a few pages, tell us about a current project or creative challenge. Please keep it for just a week. (There are already names on this journal’s list. Hurry)
No.2998 : My plan is to leave this journal at various of my favorite eateries, cafes, museums, and galleries in San Francisco Bay area—for a week at a time. I will collect it and move it to a new location asking the proprietors to keep it, AND invite patrons to contribute. If you live in the Bay area, check back here at the 1001 Journals site for where it may be in the coming weeks. (OPEN, if you can find it.)
[ Illustration by Steve Bjorkman, my friend since sixth grade.]
No.3000 : A conversation-via-journal with several of my favorite long-time artist/creator friends. They are located all over the globe and have not all met, now they will create a project together, page-by-page. (CLOSED, I’ll be sending this out.)
[1001]
