About three years ago, I was traveling the Internet and found an article about a "fish tank" project.  Intrigued, I decided to investigate.  Turns out, a freelance author named Roberta Beach Jacobson was embarking upon a very interesting twist on rejection.  She had been collecting rejection slips from far and wide in an effort to turn them into something more positive.  She called it a fish tank project because her intent was to fill a fish tank-like container with the rejection slips and display them as a piece of art.  She couldn't go on with the project, so the article was meant to find someone to take it over.

    My wheels soon started to turn as inspiration filled me while reading this article.  How could I carry this on?  Would she be willing to pass it on to me?  I sent an email as soon as I reached the last line of her writing expressing my interest.  She accepted my offer to take over the project and we made arrangements for the shipping of all the rejections she had collected so far.  Before I knew it, I began receiving bounties of rejections!  I felt so inspired!  For the first time I was actually excited about seeing rejections coming in.

    I posted information in the free advertising sections of many sites and posted flyers all over the city I lived in at the time.  My P.O. Box was brimming with submissions from interested participants.  As I collected more and more slips, ideas about how to improve this project formulated until I came up with the following:

• The formal name of the project:  The Writer's Block Project

• The premise: Create an acrylic cube or "block" to encase the rejections slips

• The purpose: To put a creative and positive spin on rejection -- no one will be rejected and their rejections will become part of a piece of art.

• The vision: "Blocks" placed in every major gallery across the country (or world!) willing to participate.

    With those ideas in mind, the third year of this project is now underway.  The Writer's Block Project is still looking for funding through grants and donations, so any suggestions in this area would be greatly appreciated.  We don't have any blocks constructed yet, but we will begin the process (including pictures posted in the journal as we go) as soon as the funding becomes available.  In the meantime, keep the rejections coming!

Thank you,

Jennifer M. Hollowell
Owner, Editor