May 5, 2017 |

2 Years of Pass the Journal!

^{Page by Xulia Pisón - Coruña, Spain - Book 6, Shelburne}

We’re celebrating two years of Pass the Journal! In April of 2015 we sent 12 Strathmore Art Journals to artists throughout the U.S., the UK, and Spain to be filled by different artists around the globe. Since then, 135 artists from 27 states within the U.S. and 14 different countries have contributed to the pages!

Each book is named after something significant to the Strathmore brand and has its own unique story. Every book also has its own virtual tracking map on the Pass the Journal website. When an artist receives one of the books, they create original artwork across a page spread. They upload their work and artist profile to the Pass the Journal website where it gets added to a tracking map with a pin mark. When a pin mark is clicked, the artwork and artist profile for that location is displayed on the site. The artist then passes the book to another artist of their choosing to continue the cycle.

Once the books are completed, they are to be sent back to Strathmore Artist Papers where all the pages will be scanned. A few will be kept in the Strathmore archives and the rest will be donated to the Trout Museum of Art in Appleton, Wisconsin and the Paine Art Center in Oshkosh, Wisconsin so community members can enjoy and be inspired by them.

^{Page by Robin Poteet - Salem, Virginia - Book 12, Cotton}

This project has provided an opportunity for artists to share their work on a global scale and has inspired others to start similar projects in their own communities. We’ve loved the unpredictable aspect of not knowing where each book will end up next with another unique and one-of-a-kind piece inside.

^{Page by Fernando De Paiva - Natal, Brazil - Book 12, Cotton}

See all the amazing artwork that's been created and track each book on the Pass the Journal website.

A couple artist's who have received the books made videos to document their process of creating artwork inside. Check them out:

GRAHAM SMITH - San Diego, CA

MIKE SHEEHAN - Lake Arrowhead, CA

And here's our video showing the pages of Book 8 - the first journal to be completely filled by different artists! It traveled to the US, England and Ireland.