The Journey Daybook, Inc.

Susan just sent me an amazing assortment of photographs she took Monday during our last 3 hour session at Lowell. Since August 19, several of us have spent many hours preparing and presenting the Journey Daybook concept to 12 inmates. (Check the earlier posts to read more about our preparations and early sessions and to see more photos) This week’s first picture shows Monday’s volunteers (Susan, Peggy, Patty, and Vicki) and 9 of the inmates. As you can see, each of us in this new community is holding our journey daybook page made on Monday. If the smiles are any indication of success, this first project at Lowell was a resounding achievement! We are bound to this community of journey daybook alums in a unique way since most of them will be incarcerated for some time. They, however, seem thankful that they are now “JDB alums.” We presented a certificate to each of them acknowledging this fact.

This week’s focus was page design. We reviewed many concepts that were presented earlier in the teaching curriculum and introduced a few new principles. After our teaching time, most of us went out to a shaded terrace to paint in the fresh air. It is beautiful to appreciate how carefully these new alums honor everyone’s need for silence as we work, even though we sit very close together on the benches that are used for visitors on sunny weekends.

These ladies worked with determination, focus, and enthusiasm; although it was during the review of their pages that their skills were most evident They have learned the language of the journey daybook and are able to articulate themselves clearly, talking about their own work and encouraging the other alums through specific and often incredibly inciteful observations.

This work has been very interesting to us. The inmates’ pages are much more reflective than we are used to seeing ( understandable!) The pages are very candid. We are especially pleased that each inmate challenged herself in some way artistically. Some drew and painted cars, cats, and distant houses – all from memory! On the two days that we worked outside, several of our new alums challenged themselves to draw the surrounding landscape. They all became comfortable with the supplies that we gave them and vowed to continue to work on their pages in our absence.

The pages are very exciting.  I am posting two pages here and the rest on the Journey Daybook Pages page.

We are very, very grateful to Satchel’s Pizza for making this project possible through a grant that covered the cost of the art supplies that we took into the prison. I am posting a link to Satchel’s web site here. Please visit the site and patronize this fine Gainesville business. I hope that Satchel’s posts some of the inmates’ work on their site, as well.

Thank you so much for your interest in this social project that gave the volunteers who participated deep personal satisfaction.