London trip part 1: The Sketchbook Project

Posted: 18 October 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Art and design | Tags: , , | 4 Comments

I was excited even as I left the house at 6.30am, briskly walking through the still dark streets of Bristol to catch my coach. Going to visit London quickens my heart at any time, but this time I had the added anticipation of being reunited with my sketchbook!

As I wrote previously, this time last year I was working on the Sketchbook Project 2012 – 32 blank pages to be filled with anything that took my fancy, and then returned home to the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. The wonderful people at the Art House Co-op then took all the sketchbooks on tour in the form of a travelling library. They’ve all been around the States and Canada so far, and now the European and Australian entries have come to London, before carrying onto Melbourne, and then back to be permanently housed in the Brooklyn Art Library.

When I arrived at Canada Water Library, they were just finishing setting things up:

This gave me the chance to start chatting to a fellow participant Amelia Vincent, whose imaginative sketchbook was entitled The Companion Book Of Critters I See In The Curtains.

Once they were set up, I registered for my library card. I could then search for a sketchbook on the computer system and request it. One of the librarians would then find it and give it to me, along with another surprise sketchbook.  It was a fantastic system as I got access to books I may never have seen otherwise, and saw some excellent artwork. What’s more, every participant whose book I viewed will have received an email to say “Jenny S. has viewed your sketchbook” – and I can vouch for the fact that receiving these gives you a little thrill every time.

Obviously I asked for my own sketchbook first and here we are, together again:

I then spent a wonderful hour and a half browsing other sketchbooks. I started off searching for my friend Harri Le Claire’s A Path Through the Trees, then saw Jennifer Kirkham’s romantic Wanderlust after requesting a book that would leave me feeling happy. and finally saw Janice Luckman’s I Remember You after requesting a book that included printmaking. My surprise books were by Sarah De Latte, Sally Nutting, Marcelle Hanselaar, and Andy Hoven.

Enjoy the photos and if you like what you see, follow the links above to see the full sketchbooks.

Hungry for more? Browse the whole Sketchbook Project Digital Library here.

If you want to be part of The Sketchbook Project 2013, sign up here before 31st October 2012.

The Sketchbook Project 2012

Posted: 29 March 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Art and design, Other creative shenanigans | Tags: , , , , | 7 Comments

Fantastic news today – my entry for the Sketchbook Project 2012 has been digitalised!

If you haven’t already heard about this wonderful initiative, then I must fill you in. Its another project set up by the visionary Art House Co-op (I’ve also been involved in their photo project The Meal). They describe the Sketchbook Project as being “like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks”. In brief, you register for the project, they send you a blank sketchbook to fill with whatever creative delights take your fancy, you return it by the deadline, and then they take the sketchbooks around the US, Canada, London and Melbourne, as a touring exhibition. At the end of 2012, they all return to the home of the Art House Co-op, the Brooklyn Art Library, where they become part of their permanent collection for people to come and browse as they please.

When my very talented friend Harri Le Claire told me about the project I knew I had to do it, and subsequently spent most of my spare time in Autumn and Winter 2011-12 huddled over my sketchbook (which is on the theme of Hope), scribbling and painting and sticking and generally having a grand old time. I finally sent it off in January and was thrilled to get the email to say they’d received it. It was an optional extra to have it added to their comprehensive digital library, where you can browse sketchbooks from this and previous projects, and today I found out that I’m in!

The tour comes to London from 12th-28th October and will be based at Canada Water Library. Can’t wait to go and see my entry again and spend some happy hours looking at some of the others.

If you’d like to see my sketchbook for yourself then check it out here.

The meal we shared with 4,419 other people…

Posted: 24 February 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Good causes, Homemade | Tags: , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We did it! Tonight was the night to take part in The Meal (see my previous post to read more about the event), and despite a slight panic to get it ready and us in place at 12pm EST/5pm GMT, we got the photo!

We had pizza, using a Doves Farm gluten- and yeast-free pizza base recipe. It was all very straightforward to make although, as the reviews suggest, you definitely only need half the water specified in the recipe. Chloe was napping while I made them, so the smiley faces were a surprise which distracted her from her post-nap grumps when I brought them out of the oven.

My very kind neighbour Laura and her baby Emily came down to take the photo and despite still not being 100% awake yet, Chloe consented to having a few photos taken. Laura took some lovely photos but the one I love the most, and the one we are submitting, is the funniest one:

As you can see, Chloe loved the pizzas, especially the olives (hence why the pizza in the first picture is winking!) Now we just have to print the photo and send it off!

NB: As well as being an awesome project, The Meal also aims to highlight world hunger and promote taking action to conquer it. One charity which aims to do this is Action Against Hunger – please visit their website to find out how you can support their work.

The Meal

Posted: 14 February 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Good causes, Photography | Tags: , , | Leave a comment

Here’s an exciting event which is easy to get involved in, and free! On 24th February, the Art House Co-op are staging a simultaneous global meal, where thousands of people around the world take a photo of themselves having a meal at 12pm EST (that’s 5pm in the UK). You then send the photo to them in New York and they’ll make an exhibition from them all, and post them online.

As well as creating a sense of unity across geographical and cultural boundaries, the project also aims to highlight world hunger and promote ways to tackle it via the humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger. To find out more and to sign up, go to the Art House co-op website. The deadline for joining is 22nd February.

Chloe and I will definitely be taking part so I’ll post the photo at the end of the month!