Day 1 | An Introduction

An Introduction | Before We Get Started

1. Why are we doing this? 

Stephanie | I am looking for a creative outlet, something I can do everyday, something just for me. Something that forces me to continue bringing creatively into my life, but something flexible that fits into my unpredictable schedule. I wanted to do a project with a partner, someone to hold me accountable to completing a project. 

Annetta | A while ago I read a book called 'A Year In Mornings', a calibration between two social media friends. My heart skipped a beat as the simple beauty the two friends captured was very inspiring. In turn it made me want to try something so unique and daring as life gets the best of us and committing to a 365 is just that, daring. I'm hoping that this project will also take me where I normally don't have the time to take myself in my creativity. 

2. What do we hope to get out of this?

Stephanie | I hope to clear my head, put all my thoughts/ideas/creativity down on paper, to spark new creativity. To put focus on myself, my creativity, to unlock my potential and grow as an artist/writer/photographer/person.

Annetta | I hope to be able to dig a little deeper into who I am and discover some things through journaling that I normally don't have the chance in doing due to a full schedule. I hope that in challenging myself in a media that I am not strong in will give me a different outlook not only in my photography and art, but in life.

3. Why did we choose this book?  365 Journal Writing Ideas: A year of daily journal writing prompts, questions & actions to fill your journal with memories, self-reflection, creativity & direction.

Stephanie | When reading about the book it asked some ‘is this book for you?’ questions. I think I answered yes to all of them. I struggle with the blank, the starting off points without direction. This book provides prompts and actions which is what I need. I get overwhelmed when I have no direction which usually ends in abandoning the project. This book should provide the basic steps to unleash my creativity for my daily journal entries.

Annetta | This book caught my attention right off the bat! I think I came back to it at least 10 times before actually settling on it, but I always just kept on coming back. I was drawn to the words in the title and the fast that my photography played so well into this project. All the creative elements seemed to be just right there.

4. Why did we pick the journals we are using?

                

Stephanie | My goal for finding a journal was to find one that would lay flat when open. Since I will be photographing it everyday throughout the year, it needs to easily open and stay open. I don’t want to mess with pages trying to close or not being able to see the full page in pictures, if I have to fiddle with it to keep it open I will get frustrated and loose interest in doing the daily photos. I looked for a size that I thought fit me best, too large and I wouldn’t take it with me on the go, too small I would feel limited which what I could do daily. I also prefer clean white pages. There was another journal I loved, but its pages were more yellow and even though the cover was way cuter, the clean white pages of this boring black journal won me over.

Annetta | Honestly, I didn't have enough time to find that perfect journal. I so badly wanted too, but everything that I saw out there wasn't right. I wanted a leather journal that was flexible, large in size, had blank pages and could hand mediums like watercolor. So since I ran out of time I settled for a beloved journal that I already own, but never started using it. It is filled with spice and personality just like me. It's also is bound by a leather strap which means as the journal thickens with photographs, notes and life it can keep it all in without spilling over.