Bead Journal Project 2008-2009

Last year I joined the Bead Journal Project started by Robin Atkins. The idea was to create one page of bead embroidery each month for a year. Each person decided upon their own theme, size, and everything else to do with the project. Robin gave this statement

Our primary goal during this process, is to stretch our creative and technical limits. The BJP is all about visual journaling using any media and techniques, as long as it includes beading. We are free to structure our bead journal pages any way we want, as long as all 12 are the same size.

I had never attempted anything like this before. All of my projects of beading, embroidery, cross stitch, or sewing had patterns, diagrams, instructions. I would change bits and parts of the whole, but I had never designed following my own creativeness. It was scary to think of doing this project. It was exciting to think of doing this project. I jumped in, eyes closed, breath held, and surfaced a couple of months later. Some of my pages are in the archives of this blog.

I decided upon a theme of 'seven'. There are many sevens in my life and I thought it would be fun to explore them. My first mistake of the whole project was to decide the size of my page would be 7 inches by 7 inches. Very big, empty space to fill with creativeness. It was too big. Yes, I didn't have to cover every inch of the the page with beads, but that's what I wanted. I did compromise and used fabric as part of the page. I finished 5 pages and have half of the 6th done. Finishing 7 pages would have felt a bit less of a failure.

The good news is that there is a BJP for 2008-2009. If you are interested you can register to participate through August 15. Click this to find the information. I'm sorry that I have posted this so close to the deadline for registration.

I think you should dash over there and register right now. You can think about what you have done later. To be honest, I am disappointed that I did not finish the year, but I do not feel that I failed at the project. I learned so much. One of the main things I learned is that I can reach inside and find some form of creativeness that is my own. I even liked the pages I did. I now know that I don't always need patterns, directions, or guidelines. I enjoyed learning that about myself. I want to learn more, so I have signed up for the next project. Join me and the other 204 participants. If you want to see where all participants are from click this. It is most impressive.

The journal pages can be any size or shape as long as you use the same size and shape through out the year. Beads have to be part of the page, but you do not have to cover every inch of the page in beads. Look here to find some of the pages completed this past year. You can also spend a couple of hours cruising through the 2007 BJP Blog to see some of the creations. It is a wonderful , supportive community.