posted by lhall. thank you!

Dear Reader,
I’ve been receiving some email from “wreck this journal” users who are mentioning that they are having trouble wrecking their copies. I wanted to mention that this is in part the point of the book. That we will all come up against some kinds of blocks or impasses (some pages are harder for us than others), based on our own personal relationship with destruction and our own perfectionistic tendencies. I would like to state for ther record that this is perfectly normal and expected. I myself have found there are some pages that I like to avoid, but I do know that those are the places that I probably need to visit the most. The hope is that somehow we can work through these blockages using the book, and maybe they will translate to bigger things out in the world, (or not). But in my experience usually they do. I am much less afraid of mistakes than I used to be. Time to jump in and get REALLY dirty. I know it’s scary sometimes, but you’re only here once so you better wreck as many pages (and things) as you possibly can, (otherwise how will anyone ever know you were here?). Maybe getting a bit angry will help. If it helps you can pretend to be angry at me the author for putting you through this ridiculous experience.

Note to those of you who are tempted to keep your copy in a perfect, pristine condition: This is definitely NOT THE POINT!!! You are hereby instructed to dispose of the entire book immediately! (through fire, loss, passing on your copy to someone who is capable of destroying it, give it to your dog, throw it out of a moving vehicle, put it back on the shelf where you bought it, mail it to your mother, give it to a child, or any number of methods of disposal that are not listed here). You are no longer allowed to have the book in your possession! You are banned from ownership of this particular book until you can find a way to follow the instructions. Or until further notice from me, whichever comes first.

three recent interviews/reviews with craft zine (of craft mag fame), on craftcast, by Alison Lee, and also DIY Planner

the point of this project is not to make a pretty picture/image. thought sometimes this will happen without you planning it. while there are absolutely no rules to this, what i’m suggesting is that you enter into every page as an experiment of sorts. To participate in an experiment means that you have no idea what will happen in the process. Empty you head of all thoughts of a final product. Think only of the material you have in your hand. Try different textures. Pretend you have never seen your journal before. Pretend you have no idea how a book works. Try pushing the idea of what a book is.

your new assignment is to percieve the journal as something else. a house, a garden, a sculpture, an article of clothing, a secret note, a movement, a manifesto, a color, a joke, a scientific document, a window, a device, a historical object, a way of documenting time. make of list of different ways you can look at it and try them.

1. Create a “resist” using a waxy or non-water based medium, (experiment with crayons, white-out, pencils, candle wax, paint, earwax, etc. try different things).

2. Go over the entire piece with some kind of stain or waterbased medium, (i.e. tea, watercolor, coffee, etc.)

inspired by this teacup. (link via camilla.)

right where you are sitting

1. At some point during the day, make marks in your journal using whatever is around you.
2. Make a note of where you were.
3. Post the page on flickr.

Go see what people are doing. It’s amazing stuff!!!

so i have been working on this site for a month or so now, changing things as i go. this whole idea will be a work in progress and i am inviting you to participate in the evolution of it. the project seemed to want to jump ahead of me before it was officially launched. i did a few interviews early in the year and mentioned the book, and several readers found the site via a google search, (and through the flickr site). before i knew it people were wrecking journals and posting them here! several blogs had posts about it. i was overwhelmed with email! it’s been so exciting to see it unfold. thank you to all who have responded thus far.

if you would like to know what this site is all about you might want to read the story first.

so here is what i would like from you:

the book will be officially released this june (2007) by Perigee (Penguin), and i am really excited to finally share with the world. if you would like to acquire an advance galley copy for review, please email me and i will be happy to send you one. (please note that this applies to publications, magazines, and websites who regularly do reviews, etc. I am not able to send it to individuals until it is officially released.)

if you haven’t yet tried wrecking a page in your journal just for the experience of it, i highly recommend it (or you can wait for the book and wreck that). beware, it can be quite addictive, and rather revolutionary (in a culture that always tells us to behave.) happy wrecking!