Sunday 13 April 2014

The Sketchbook Project: Part I

Evening!

So, a new project has begun. I've been wanting to start sketchbooking for a while, just for personal development and enjoyment more than anything else, but I'm the sort of person who finds it difficult to do something without a real reason, and I work far better when I have a focus, and even better, a deadline. I had only considered it in passing, but then when I found The Sketchbook Project on the wonderful Carolyn Saxby's blog. Her work inspires me so much, and I was delighted when browsing her blog led me to this project. So without further ado, here it is!


Basically, the purpose of the project is to pick one of the themes they give you, and then go and fill a sketchbook in any way you feel like. I'm going to use it to explore some ideas and techniques I've been wanting to try for ages, and I'm so excited! Then when the book is complete, I wrap it up and post it back to New York, where they send it off in their mobile library with all the other sketchbooks from around the world, before it gets archived in their main library in Brooklyn, where anyone can go and browse the sketchbooks. They also 'digitize' it and upload it to their online library. Neat, huh? Not only is it a great chance for me to do something I've been wanting to do for ages, but it also means my work will fall into the hands of people who would never have seen it otherwise! I think that's pretty cool.

The theme I chose is 'Wanderer', and I'm going to incorporate my own photography, as well as found objects, text and textile art to create pieces based around this theme. I've wanted to do something like this for a while, and it's really exciting to have a focus for it! 

So me being me, instead of sleeping last night when I got home at around 2am, I sat up and started planning. 


And today, me and my little sister took my grandma out to Tynemouth for the afternoon, where we had a walk and a scone in a nice little tea house, and then went into The Land of Green Ginger (a cool little indoor market), and I wasn't expecting to find a treasure in there, but I did! Outside the little vintage shop was a shelf of books, and on it were these two lovely books - Junior Modern Poetry (1930), and English Verse Old and New (1922), both owned by an N. Brodie. They're full to the brim of lovely poems, some of which fit the theme of Wanderer perfectly, as they reference travelling and nature and all sorts. I can't wait to use it in my work! Has anyone else found any gems in vintage shops/fairs which they've used in their work?


So I'll leave you for today with the first poem which caught my eye...next time you see this, it'll have a beautiful embroidered frame, I think! Watch this space!



Happy Sunday!

Amy x

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