Epic round the world journal makes first public appearance

In a previous blog entry I talked about a creative project that I am doing over the next year with eleven of my friends around the world. I was going to get a journal, divide it into 12 months, and send it to 11 other women around the world to fill with creativity and inspiration. The topic was going to be "what inspires you in your life/work?" and "what are you passionate about?" I thought it would be easy to find a journal for this project, but I have spent most of January (my month!) searching high and low for a journal with enough pages that each of us will have plenty of space for creative expression. I came across many beautiful journals on my search, but unfortunately they were either too small or far too expensive.

I finally met a book maker at Art Ellis, a local art store, about a week ago. Her name was Sharon Tanovitz, and she said exactly what I needed to hear: that she could make me the book I needed, and that it would be ready in a week. Big. Sigh. Of. Relief. I discussed measurements and number of pages with her, picked paper that would be good for writing and drawing on, but light enough that the book would not weigh a tonne, and left it with her. I got a call on Wednesday that the book was ready, and rushed downtown to the art store to pick it up. She is not elaborate or ornate, but she is beautiful, and I am convinced that she is going to be perfect for the journey around the world that she is about to embark upon.

The plan is that we are going to digitize her pages at the end of the year, share her with you as a single cohesive piece, and then auction her beautiful self off to raise money for an organization that empowers young women (we have yet to decide which organization this will be, so if you have suggestions, please do be in touch!)

I will not be sharing the contents with you now....believe me, I am pretty sure you will be glad you waited to see her as a cohesive, single piece of artistic inspiration. But I did want to share some photos I took of the blank book after I picked her up from the art store, her pages still all white and just waiting to be filled! So here she is. Yes, the book is a she. Thus far nameless (perhaps she will gain a name over the course of the year ahead), but a she nevertheless! I present to you our collective journal:

 

I am going to be spending a good portion of my weekend immersed in the pages of this baby because I have to put her in the mail and send her off to my dear friend Rachel in Boulder, Colorado, some time next week. I can hardly wait to see how her journey unfolds!