a journey of sorts . . .
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear… Without fully realising I’ve been needing-looking for a creative project I’ve been feeling the lack. And, I need a creative outlet that gets me out of the kitchen, doesn’t involve flour, butter, sugar, eggs, food processor, saucepans or washing damn jars.
A few years back Anne Lawson proposed The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sketchbook just as the G.O. and I were settling after relocating from city to country-coast followed by an around Australia roadtrip, and the timing didn’t feel right. Two years later, cue aha moment when I read a post by Richard Guest of the blog The Future Is Papier Mâché about the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project.
Following the link Richard provided I found plenty to interest me… Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project is a “crowdfunded library of artist sketchbooks that anyone can join”.
“Founded in 2006, Brooklyn Art Library is a creative platform that hosts interactive projects accessible to anyone. We are the largest collection of sketchbooks in the world. Housing over 40,000 sketchbooks on our shelves and over 20,000 in our digital library, we fuse the digital with the analog to create a one of a kind experience for all of our artists and visitors.”
Follow your own theme or go with one of the Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project 2018 themes… “Go-between. Disconnection. Bizarre. Things I’ve left behind. Standstills. Rituals. This one thing… Burdens & Brushes. Homonyms. Stitch & story. Infinite sketch. City streets. Melancholy. A visual short story of the day we met.”
You can opt for standard and digitized versions. The current 2018 sketchbook project deadlines are ORDER BY: NOV 15th, 2018 / SUBMIT BY: FEB 15th, 2019.
“After the due date we’ll exhibit the current year’s collection of sketchbooks both at the library in NYC and out of town. Everyone who sends their completed sketchbook back in time will have their book included, and later cataloged into our permanent collection at Brooklyn Art Library.”
The Brooklyn Art Library Sketchbook Project website is www.brooklynartlibrary.com. Find out more via the FAQs, and order a blank sketchbook here.
I decided to sleep on it. If I could come up with a starting point and theme I’d go for it.
I signed up this morning.
“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” ~ Albert Einstein
July 24, 2018 at 4:25 pm
Good for you. I’m in an assimilation phase at the moment. I go through one of these every now and then, just prior to launching forth into new or revisited creative projects. Getting started can be the hardest part. Best wishes to you in your endeavours!
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July 24, 2018 at 6:48 pm
Thank you. You are so right, getting started I needed a stimulus. The time is right I think, and creature of habit I’m acccustomed to working within projects and to deadlines.
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July 24, 2018 at 4:49 pm
lol – good for you! But…what happened to the horticulture studies/ambitions?
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July 24, 2018 at 6:49 pm
I’m multi-tasking!
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July 24, 2018 at 7:24 pm
lmao! You… have too much energy!
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July 24, 2018 at 5:09 pm
I’m looking forward to watching progress on this one. I love that you’ve included hygge, a word that really doesn’t translate well into English but has a Dutch equivalent popular in my family: gezellig. It encompasses not only coziness, but also friendship, togetherness and fun.
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July 24, 2018 at 6:59 pm
To kick start creativity I’m working with what I’ve got… and hygge is something I want to explore. Gezellig sounds wonderful, something we all need in our lives ☺
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July 29, 2018 at 2:01 pm
‘Hygge’ methinks is a word hard to translate unless one culturally belongs to those who ‘feel’ it! I still remember the US expat Ron Smith in his great Swedish blog ‘Lost in a pot’ pulling me up a couple of months back for not using the quite correct term of ‘hubane’ in my own birth language if Estonian . . . it is way, way more and deeper in meaning than ‘cosy’ or ‘comfortable’ . . . perchance it is a word plain needed in NE Europe: oft cold, dark and serious . . .
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July 29, 2018 at 4:17 pm
It’s a fine thing that hygge is making its presence felt in popular language, culture of the wider world beyond its origin 🤓
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July 24, 2018 at 6:38 pm
Awesome! This is so cool! And so YOU 🙂
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July 24, 2018 at 7:03 pm
Ahhh, thank you. Why not 🤗
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July 25, 2018 at 12:09 am
Good on ya. I have found that a creative hobby is the best thing about retirement. Most of us are too busy making a living to be creative when we are younger.
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July 25, 2018 at 6:45 am
I’m not sure if where I’m at is retirement but I appreciate having more access to time & space. I have too many pastimes so adding one more seems like the thing to do… one of my favourite hashtags is #nothingsucceedslikeexcess ☺
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July 25, 2018 at 9:21 am
No surprise to know that I love this idea! Your list resonates ~ you will do great things with it, becomes it comes from your heart. I hope we can have peeks along the way. 💜
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July 25, 2018 at 6:42 pm
I was sorry to pass on the opportunity to participate in the Sisterhood of the Travelling Sketchbook collaboration… this makes up for it… somewhat ☺
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July 27, 2018 at 12:14 am
🙂
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July 27, 2018 at 7:56 am
Back at you 😘
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August 2, 2018 at 2:38 am
Love this EllaDee – and thanks for the mention!
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August 11, 2018 at 10:15 am
What an interesting project. Best wishes and have fun with this new project.
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August 11, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Thank you. It’s a tiny little sketchbook but a fun way to ignite creativity
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August 12, 2018 at 5:25 pm
Inspiration will come, Dale. I can see your little book emerging, the colours of your dreams, a diary of sorts about the garden.How exciting: I hope we get updates.
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August 12, 2018 at 9:00 pm
It’s a tiny sketchbook but big fun filling it I think ☺
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August 13, 2018 at 12:49 am
Just initiating something and feeling that creative bone is what catapults us into something greater. Sometimes, for me, even the smallest spark can lead to something quite satisfying. Enjoy the adventure!!
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August 14, 2018 at 8:31 am
You describe it perfectly; it’s been nice to think about something new and creatively different to the food and horticulture I have been focused on.
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