The sixth spread in my moleskin journal for the sketchbook project 2011 reflects the happenings around here as of late . . . First, I'll share photos of the spread in progress. I wanted to cover the sketchbook pages with paper this time and found . . . .

. . . . handmade paper the color of the sea. I added watercolor crayons in shades of blue around the edges, wet it to activate, plus pigment powder in a shade of iridescent blue-green while the paper was wet. . . . 

I also added copies of postcard images that fit what i was thinking of. A hole was cut in the shape of the sun, and yellow crayon was scribbled. Found words and handwriting were added, and then a scan was done to capture it.

This is simple for me, but I feel it's done. Click on any photo for more detail. Lately, I have had questions in regards to the Sketchbook project from some of you who are (or were) considering signing up and participating in this project themselves. I am going to share the questions I received via email, and my answers - in case you are wondering the same things too!

"Do you think you’ll be okay with “letting it go” next year, when it’s chock-full of all your wonderful stuff?  Or is the possible regret of giving it up outweighed by the idea that it will be “out there” to be shared with others?"

I replied: I am already okay with letting the sketchbook go. It is a weird thing, but I would guess because I make a lot of art, I don’t want to/can’t keep as much art as I make. And because I can scan or photograph my work to remind me of it and what I have done, I really don’t need to physically keep it. I am actually happy to be sharing my art and then sending it off as part of this huge collaborative. I will have no regrets! I think it is the most amazing thing and I can’t believe they have over 10,000 participants (including you!!). I did opt for the digitized sketchbook and I liked that I could receive comments via the bar code/ checking the book in and out. But my basic idea is that I am going to put myself and my art into this sketchbook and send it out into the world on purpose, to share myself and my art with the world (or with whomever thinks my sketchbook looks interesting!)

"I am curious though, can you do pretty much any art form in your book, excluding the items listed in the rules, or is it geared towards sketching, painting, etc. (mostly flat medium)?"

I replied: yes! You can do pretty much any form of art in the sketchbook; it does not have to be sketching. As I  understand it though, “Your book must remain within the dimensions of 5.5 x 8.5 inches. It can open up to something wonderful (of any size), but it must fold down to the original dimensions. You are welcome to unbind, rebind or alter the book in (almost) any other way. If you want to use a thicker stock of paper, go for it”. I don’t believe it has to stay flat, just the same size height & width. I am very excited to be part of this amazing project!

"How many double page layouts are there in the book?"

I have done 5 (6) double page spreads so far and in most of the cases I glued two pages together because the paper in the moleskin journal is very thin. I counted and there are about 30 (28) single page spreads left which would really translate into 15 spreads or less, when gluing pages together, depending on how many pages you glued together. You have until Jan. 15th to finish & mail your sketchbook. 

"How did you learn about this and have you ever done it before?"

I learned about it from one of my swap participants, Sharon Walworth. She wrote to me and said she had found something that she thought I would like and she gave me the link! She was absolutely right. I love this idea and I am having a great time doing it. I have never done the sketchbook project before and I have never kept an artist journal before!  

"What theme did you choose?"

 I picked one of the themes the project offered, “This is not a sketchbook”. That was perfect for me and gives me a lot of options. They do change the themes to keep the sketchbooks different and interesting, so that theme might not be available now, but they do have a wide range of themes and you can also ask them to pick a theme for you when you register. Hope to see you in the project if it appeals to you, or enjoy the art and the project as the pages unfold!