http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=9704

From Beijing with Love

Thursday, May 14, 2009
By Becky Everett

Artist and designer Mary Wiseman clearly values artistic freedom—when she handed out 100 blank journals for 100 days in Beijing, Wiseman invited recipients to decorate them any way they saw fit. The journals, which were passed from person to person during the 100 days, were embellished with words, drawings, collages and more by the anonymous artists of Beijing. Prints of pages from 15 of Wiseman's journals are on display in the salon of the Academy of Music for the month of May.

While Wiseman was living in Beijing from 1990 to 2005, she was inspired by the 1,000 Journals Project of San Francisco. Her passion for collage art and journal-making also moved her to undertake the creative journaling experiment.

Visitors can view a selection of the actual Beijing journals at the artist reception on May 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. May 1-31, The Academy of Music Salon, 274 Main St., Northampton, (413) 522-1319.