What to do on a Sunday? - The Sketchbook Project

This past weekend finally came!  The weekend the the Art House Co-op's Sketchbook Project came to Brooklyn!  My friends Penny and Loretta accompanied me on my journey to see all the sketchbooks, including my own. 
It was just over the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn, in a neighborhood full of cool graffiti:

This is how it worked:
Each artist was given a sketchbook and a theme:

and when you were finished filling it with your art, you sent it to the Art House Coop to be part of a traveling library:

First stop: 303 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY

there were gorgeous sketchbooks from around the country

this beautiful timekeeper's diary from Sharon Tomlinson!  I couldn't believe I was holding it in my hands!  Such gorgeous, saturated color...the kind i like!

and one about the end of the world by Nancy Martini from the Miami area

there was an elephant in the room by Misty Mawn

as well as a beautiful book from the UK about the other side of the tracks by Elly Wright

and one from South Africa by Carina Claassens

These were artists whose work i've admired and to actually see it in person and to

TOUCH it

HOLD it

EXAMINE it! 

 How amazing!

here are some other pages i loved, but didn't get the artists' names...if you're out there, and see your work...let me know, i'm happy to give you credit!

remember the robot from lost in space?  danger danger will robinson!

The Sketchbook Project is continuing it's journey to Boston next, then onto Californina, Missouri and Illinois...if you get a chance...check it out.  There aren't enough hours in a day to see all the books, but even seeing a few is truly inspiring!

Flyer for the 2010 Sketchbook Project tour

Flyer for the 2010 Sketchbook Project tour, originally uploaded by arthousecoop.

come see my sketchbook!

monster fun

i picked this little guy up at earth angels toys.  it is a monster bag by valerie weberpal of harvest moon designs.  he just called to me, so i bought him.

then i discovered what his real purpose was:

this monster bag is really an art journal holder!  my moleskin sketchbook fits perfectly and a pencil and waterbrush fit in the front pocket!  there was a REASON for this purchase!  YaY!

spring...

after wishing for a snow day yesterday and not receiving my wish, look what spilled into my journal:

moley entry

i belong to a fabulous art trading group called ATC's for All. within that group i have signed up for 3 different japanese moleskine book trades.  it works like this: the owner of the book picks a theme for their book.  the participants take turns putting an entry in their book.  when all entries are in, the book goes back to the owner. the result is a little tiny treasure of art from around the world.

last week i worked in a book for a group i belong to called the "lucky 7".  we consist of 10 members: 7 from all over the US (Illinois, Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Washington and NY), 2 from Scotland and 1 from Sweden.  the book i worked in last week is owned by kristib, her theme was open media, meaning the artist could do whatever they wanted using whatever they wanted.  i played! 
it is called "free" here is the result: