Jennifer New

An eclectic collection of journal pages worth reading not only for what they say in themselves, but also for what they can inspire in the reader. I illustrate my own journal and this book was a nice charge of energy for my own writing/drawing.

if you don't know this story, there are a few other collections of the journals and some films made about Dan Eldon's life. Eldon was a prolific journal maker, cataloging and describing his adventuresome life in Africa and around the world. He drove through some of the most war-torn countries of Africa at the time, to carry a self-raised donation for refugees. After that, he tripped into a career as a photojournalist, documenting the famine and war in Somalia. In a strange turn of events, he show more was killed - stoned - by Somalis as he took photographs of the destruction and death of a particular attack. He died at 22-years-old, having lived more in that time than most anyone after a fill life. The book are selections from his seventeen artistic journals with text describing his life. This is an incredibly moving and quickening book.

Highly Recommended!!!!!
5 bones!!!!! show less

Book dedicated to showcasing intricate art journals, mostly hand-drawn. The journals themselves are so self-evidently fascinating that it's hard to say why presenting them in this fashion doesn't quite work. The choice to reduce intricate journal-pages down to postcard size, rendering them mostly unreadable, certainly doesn't help; I think there's also a problem with the sheer number of journals represented here, which helps to give a sense of scope and variety but eliminates the ability to show more really immerse yourself in any particular journal. The framing essays profiling each journal-maker are worth a read, but ultimately they're not nearly as interesting as the journals themselves: it's just one more degree of remove between the reader and the subjectivity that's alive in the journal-pages. There's so much "frame" here that the art itself is choked out. show less

The best quote I have come across in this book is one that says "the journal is the working stiff of creative life." This quote lends the journal (visual journal or art journal or text based journal) an air of humanity. It lends the feeling that it is ok to cross out bits and pieces, to rip pages out, to start over. It gives me the okay to just do whatever I need to in my journal and use it to work out ideas and improve my ideas. I finished this book and felt a sense of relief. Not relief show more that I had finished it, but a sense of excitement and a new beginning. Imagine letting out a huge sigh of contentment and that is how I felt. I was particularly enamored with the 1000 journals project and wished that New had had more of Denyse Schmidt's journals. I loved reading about the various artists, especially in the creativity section and felt very inspired by their work. Read this book, it is fantastic! show less