The 1000 Journals Project and Me

Back in 2000 when an artist who calls himself Someguy sent out 1000 journals, he caused a worldwide sensation. People were encouraged to create in the journals, share their work on the website, post where they were and the number of the journal being worked on. Myspace, Meet Up groups, flickr, facebook, the internet and news media were all talking about the journals.

With one thousand journals and many more people wanting to get one, I knew I had a very slim chance to work in one myself. But I signed up anyway and time went by. No journal. I satisfied my curiosity by buying the 1000 Journals Project book. When the 1000 Journals Project documentary http://www.1000journalsfilm.com/ was released, I hurried to get that too.

Reading the book and seeing the documentary made me really want to have just one journal in my hands. To be able to see what others had created in it and where it had traveled.... The 1000 Journals are famous! To a journaler like myself, holding one of the thousand would be like holding the Holy Grail.

A few weeks ago I "met" Andrea Kruezhage, the producer of the 1000 Journals Project documentary, via flickr. She'd seen some of my journal pages. When she "friended" me on facebook I was thrilled. Then she emailed me to tell me that she was going to be at the Phoenix Museum of Art, showing her documentary and doing a question and answer session after wards. And she was going to have FOUR of the 1000 journals with her. 

She said she hoped I could come and we could meet afterwards.  And by the way, would I bring some of my journals? I told her that I had never worked in any of the 1000. Was she still interested in seeing some of mine? She assured me she did. I was so excited I could hardly wait for February 22nd to come. 

People were already lined up to get into the theater when we got there. Quickly every seat was taken.  Steve Weiss of No Festival Required introduced Andrea. What made an impression on me was that Andrea so strongly believed in the 1000 Journals project that she sold her home in California to raise the money to create this documentary. That kind of passion I had no words for. 

Andrea asked the audience who was there from Meet Up and MySpace? Then she asked where "Theresa from facebook" was? The last time my name was mentioned over a microphone it was because my luggage was lost at Heathrow, but I believe I managed not to embarrass myself in front of the audience. 

The people in the theater were of all ages, with several children attending. Many of us brought our own journals. People reacted to the art work they saw on the big screen and to the stories being told. The two young women from Australia who redid other peoples' entries because they thought "they needed more color and we're all about color" got a strong reaction from the audience then and in the Q and A session afterwards. Judging from the long and loud applause after the film ended, the audience liked what they had seen. 

As for the four journals that Andrea told me she was going to bring,  I did not see them anywhere. I thought maybe they were on display in cases in the rear of the theater? So I was amazed when I saw two people holding the journals and passing them around the audience.  Because of limited time, people were encouraged to share the journals with their neighbors. A close eye was kept on the books as they were reluctantly passed on.

At last, I thought-I'm going to have my hands on one of the elusive 1000 Journals!  But before I even had a chance, time was up and the journals were collected.  Andrea was going to the gift shop where she was available to sign copies of her documentary and autograph journals. 

Like a good paparazzi I waited until the theater was empty and Andrea was by herself.  I introduced myself and Mark and she gave me a big hug. I asked her if she had any reading material for her flight back to LA? Impulsively I handed her my moleskine journal I had completed while I was in London. I told her if she wanted, she could take it with her, read it and mail it back when she was finished.  She told me my journal had now become part of the 1000 Journals Project.

We walked together to the gift shop where a long line had already formed.  She signed my copy of her 1000 Journals Project dvd. Then she did something that totally caught me by surprise. She handed me Journal #585, told me it needed some help and I could have it for two weeks.

I'm sure my mouth fell open as I gulped "Really?! Really?!"  She laughed and told me to mail it back to her after I was finished with it. Clutching #585 to my chest as if my life depended on it, Mark steered me out of the museum and off to dinner.
  
Since I brought #585 home it has seldom left my sight.   The first night I had it, I even slept with it under my pillow.  Now it is sitting on my desk, waiting for something to be done in it tonight.  

When I mail Journal #585 back to Andrea this weekend I will have done a few pages in it.  And on one of them  I will journal about how I finally got to be a part of Someguy's 1000 Journal Project.

Comments

[Patti V]

That is such a great story!!! Theresa!! I met Andrea in Pleasanton last Aug at the ZNE Convenzione where the documentary was shown and a Q and A followed..I got to hold one of the journals and have several pics of me and it! what an awesome experience to be sure and I tooo was so incredibly impressed by her passion for the project...I mean SELL your house??? WOW! I personally was able to talk to her and let her now how terribly impressed I was and to thank her for sharing this project. I hope more and more people make an attempt to journal and fall in love with it as we so obviously have! Thanks for your blog post!!!

[andrea]

Thank you Theresa for this beautiful blog post... You forgot to mention one tiny detail: All this happened on your and Mark's 23rd wedding anniversary! It's such an honor to have been part of this your very special day. Much love to you!

[Becky New]

Oh T! I didn't realize the extent of all this! How ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL!!! I LOVE this story! Talk about passion.... YOU are the passionate one!

[DAWN GOLD]

I loved reading this post - isn't it funny how Facebook helped you to make such a dramatic connection... lucky you, 1. for meeting Andrea, 2. for havng one of your journals put in to the project and 3. to get a journal to work in.

The idea for this project is fabulous and I so love it... I look foward to seeing your finished entry.
Enjoy your time with the journal, it won't be with you physically for long, but oh boy the memory will live forever...

Take care xxx and THANK YOU for sharing this experience x

[Kay Graham]

Teresa,
Your story gave me goosebumps!! I can only imagine how you felt and somehow, I totally understand...What a feeling.......Enjoy your time with your journal and always remember the feeling, the intensity with which you can call on your muse with it later on!! The passion you felt on that night, I thought you were going to say you made hubby drive you right home, lol....Thank you for sharing and have fun in AU....Went there in '05 and it truly is a land of OZ!! Please Post about your journal when you get back...I would love to see what everyone writes and read about your trip...Also, while there, get some EMU cream, it is awesome for your skin!! Smiles & Blessings, Kay

[sandy M]

Theresa,
This was a beautiful story and I love that you shared it with everyone. I will be at Art Unraveled this year and definitely plan to work in your big fat journal. I have a journal but rarely bring it out to play.

Enjoy playing in the journal number 585. How wonderful for you that you get to realize one of your dreams. I am excited for you.
Hugs,
Sandy

[DaNelle]

Well how cool is that! Andrea is such a warm person. It's just the sort of thing she would do! Hope you scanned your work and uploaded the pictures to the website. That's part of the Project too! I'm going to go look up 585 right now.

I was also at the screening at the Art Museum. And I will be at AU to see the film screened again. It was really an honor to be a part of the project (journal 988), the book and the film! ...Kind of my 15 minutes of fame!

I'm glad to know another Valley girl is now part of the experiment too!