Back in January, I shared that
my sketchbook for this year's
Sketchbook Project was finished and sent off to the
Brooklyn Art Library. Once summer comes, the year's worth of sketchbooks take to the road, making stops at cities across the US. A couple of years ago, I attended their event at a gallery in Silver Lake. It was fun to view my sketchbook as well as others in the project. It doesn't seem like the summer stops are in a bricks-and-mortar store front anymore. They now have a trailer full of the books that they pull across country, setting up shop for a weekend at each of their stops.
This weekend they were in Los Angeles. From Friday until today, they made camp at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). The LACMA is a huge complex on Wilshire Blvd. It's one of many museums along the Miracle Mile. In addition to the museum buildings, the courtyard is sprawling with numerous events and activities happening simultaneously. The Sketchbook Project settled in the middle of the courtyard.
This go round, they had it all linked to mobile devices rather than relying solely on the two iPads they were using. Since I already had an account with them, signing onto the mobile site was easy. I searched the books, requested the ones I wanted to look at, and within a couple of minutes they were retrieved and lent to us for some browsing. The last time I went to see the books, the lines were very long and so was the wait time.
Even though it's my book and I have pictures of the pages, it was still fun to check mine out and look at it with my friends. It was also inspiring to check out books others have done. Some were cute, some well done, and others were simply AMAZING.
Haven't made the decision whether I will do it again this year or not. To finish a book is really quite satisfying, but I've also found it a bit stressful. The pressure of creating something with a theme causes me to overthink quite bit. Also, I had read somewhere earlier this year that this would be the final tour for the Project. I have not been able to find that information again, though. The whole concept is really quite simple, but I enjoy their visits. I do hope it continues.
So happy you did it! I did not make one this year...I have made 3....in fact, I found out about the project from you :) It is awesome to see your book at the trailer....even better in person in Brooklyn!
ReplyDeleteYes! I enjoyed visiting the library when I was there a couple of years ago. If I lived nearby I'd visit as often as I could. This was my third one as well. I keep going back and forth on a whether to do it again. Their price for participating went up for this year.
DeleteWhat a neat idea! I went back and looked at your pages (other than just the ones you showed here) and LOVE them!! I have a tiny little notebook of some of my favorite things, but it's just words...no pictures (then again, I can doodle, but I'm no artist). Your pages that are strictly design features remind me of the ZenTangle book I have.
ReplyDeleteI hope they do this again next year so YOU will do it and so WE can see what you do! :)
Well thank you. I prefer to play with patterns and doodling as I get too much in my head when I sketch. It's easier after doing it for awhile, but if there's a stretch of time between sketching work it takes time for me to get back into and like what I do.
DeleteThere are some great artists who doodle their lists and post them on their blogs. They're always beautiful.
Were you impressed when you saw them. Sometimes it takes them being away from your mind for a while for you to really see them.
ReplyDeleteI don't know about impressed, but I rarely am with my own stuff. But looking at it with a different eye, was good. I did see how they progressively got better which is what I meant with the above comment. It's proof that the more regularly I do it, the easier it is. The breaks are when I really have the time, but the rest of the year it's hit and miss.
DeleteThe "event" itself is very impressive though. I wish I had been able to sit on that little stool inside the trailer and just poured through each book, one at a time. There are so many ways to be creative!!!
You see I'm quite impressed with your designs. So much so I think if you were ever in the position to sell them I think they'd be a runner. I wondered though if you'd see them as individual having been away from them and they you, if you'd think Mmm yes I like them.
DeleteWhy did you have the babushkas asleep btw.
Ya know, I was going to answer that the nesting dolls I have have closed eyes, but when I got home tonight I checked and they don't...so I don't know why. There has to be a reason, I just don't remember. It's probably because I was being too lazy to draw the eyes. :)
DeleteThank you for saying that...although I'm not sure I agree with you. ;) As I've mentioned before, I'm missing that step from sketch to vector design. I've got a free trial of adobe illustrator but I haven't taken the time to download it yet, I think I'm afraid I'll like it too much - It's very pricey and I don't think I can just buy it outright. It's a month to month subscription. There are some free apps that I can download on the Mac that are supposed to be decent. Between that, and learning more on the "new" camera, and just wanting to draw and paint on break, I'm having trouble prioritizing.
Adobe are getting better, you could get away with study for 3 years now, not the 10 of the past. Using the words intuitive and Adobe in close proximity would have people blinking in confusion. I doubt anyone 'likes' it, any of it.
DeleteI think the Adobe CC which Illustrator is part of is on offer to educators at 65% off. Still not cheap.
There's definitely a love/hate relationship with Adobe products. I've had photoshop for years and, while it's very good at what it does, figuring it all out is so convoluted. Surely illustrator will be the same. I'll have to check out the ed discount. It isn't an expense I feel like I can justify with it just being for fun. If I could find a cheap previous version of the software it might be justifiable. But as you mention, the ease of use probably exponentially less with each older version.
DeleteThere are tutorials on using photoshop similarly once photos are scanned. I've played around with that a bit. So that's probably a better option for the time being.