Sketchbook Project 2012 Tour: Vancouver

Tuesday afternoon, I headed downtown to the W2 Media Cafe to meet up with friends Penelope and Carol at the Sketchbook Project's Vancouver debut. Being the keeners that Penn and I are, we arrived just before the library opened at 3 pm. Carol manage to squeak in under the wire at the end of her work day.

They had a really efficient set up, as you can see in the first 4 images above with great signage to explain what to do. You begin by using the DIY kiosk to issue yourself a library card and then move to the check out station where you can search for the books you'd like to view. You can generate a search based on name, location, title, medium, materials, theme and about 50 more criteria or you can simply request the computer randomly choose for you. If you do a search, you get the book you requested, plus another which is randomly chosen-two for the price of one! This is the project's way of giving everyone equal shelf time, which is great.

When a book is viewed, the author is immediately sent an email saying "Your book was viewed by (name) in (city)." I've had emails like this from the tour stop in Chicago. When I got home from Tuesday's event, I had emails from the project saying who had viewed my book in Vancouver. It's so fast that I viewed a beautiful book about the ocean, done in watercolours by Kimi Kobashi , 10 minutes later, she was following me on my page on the Sketchbook Project site! Amazing!

I knew several friends had signed up for the 2012 Sketchbook Project, so I began my time there, searching for their books. I was able to find Angela Cartwright's sketchbook and in looking for another O'Brien, came across Karen O'Brien's instead. (I've met her through Artfest.) I also check out Mat Roff's contribution. Mat was the first person on the Sketchbook Project site to "friend" me when I joined. His work is so cool!

Another great thing is that it was a great place to meet other creatives. I met some new people and had lovely chats with them and ran into old friends as well. I was surprised to see a friend from the Bellingham ATC group, Cheryl, whom I haven't seen for years, as well as another friend I met through the Al Fresco dinners, Colleen (of the famed bacon tarts!) and Mary whom I recently met through my work with Papergirl. It was THE place to be on Tuesday!

The folks from the Arthouse Co-op were super nice and friendly. That's Chris in the photo in the second row on the far left. I kept him busy running back and forth to the shelves getting me books. In all, they brought a library of 7000 books on tour. I believe I managed to look at about 50 in 4 hours. Over the two day show, they issued 265 library cards and 2588 books were viewed!

While we were there, Penn and I also took the opportunity to sign up for the 2013 Sketchbook Project. If you sign up at the tour, then you save $5 on shipping and get your blank sketchbook right there and then. Seemed like an excellent idea! Now I just have to get busy working on it-I have 7 1/2 months to get it done!

If you want to know if the tour is coming to your neck of the woods, here's the place to find out! Anyone living in Toronto will have a chance to visit the tour when it's in town July 18th-22nd. GO! You won't be sorry!

Sketchbook Project 2012

This week, the Sketchbook Project 2012 tour will be coming to Vancouver. I'm really excited because I have a Sketchbook in the tour, as do several of my friends. We're going en masse to see this amazing travelling library, made up of thousands of sketchbooks made by fellow creatives from around the world.
We hope you'll join us!

The tour will be setting up shop at the W2 Media Cafe, located at 111 W. Hastings St., Vancouver on Tuesday, May 15th & Wednesday May 16th from 3-7 pm. Admission is FREE!

If you're planning to attend, you may RSVP here.

Save The Dates!

Happy May! I can't believe were already into the 5th month of the year already! I've dubbed May the month o'many things. My calendar is chock full of amazing events. Here's what's happening:

May 3rd, (two days from now!) Seth Apter is here from NYC for his book launch party. I've posted about it here.

May 15th & 16th, The Sketchbook Project is coming to Vancouver. Details are here. (Scroll down to find the info for Vancouver.) I posted a sneak peek at my Sketchbook here, if you're curious.

May 17th is the opening reception for the Challenging the Myths: Disability & Art exhibit at Leigh Square. Info for that is here.

May 18th is my turn in the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay! I'm a Difference Maker! I posted a bit about it here, though I am still waiting for a specific time and location. Update to follow soon!

Consider this my personal invitation to YOU to come join the fun!

 If you plan to attend any or all of these events, shoot me a note in the comments or by email, so I will know to look for you!

Fait Accompli

1. broken glass (C), 2. Only in Vancouver (C), 3. barnicles, 4. 1152 (C), 5. Deep Cove (C), 6. Silent Sentries (C), 7. November (C), 8. Skydiving (C), 9. Love you (C), 10. Antique Wooden Chest, 11. Stop (C), 12. 22, 13. East Van, 14. warehouse (C), 15. Hand , 16. Life Is Good, 17. Where Old Couches Go to Die (C), 18. walking , 19. warehouse wall 1 (C), 20. Metal (C), 21. Self-Portrait, 22. Funky Phone , 23. celebrating spring, 24. Fragile (C)

So this is the last week of Swan Dive. The month flew by so quickly. I managed to create 24 images (plus a few with family, not pictured here) in 27 days, which I think is pretty good. It would have been more, but I got really sick over the weekend (migraine, blurred vision, allergies & sinus pain-oh joy!) and spent the lion's share of the last 6 days in bed. 

I'm taking a bit of a break in May, which is chock full of events-Seth will be here for his book tour, then the Sketchbook Project is here, then the gallery show I'm in is opening and then I'll be doing the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay. Add in a civic holiday and regular life stuff and well...it's really busy!

June will be amazing because I'll be taking Vivienne's new course, Montage, which I hear sold out really quickly. I'm really excited about it because I will get to work on my video editing skills and learn how to combine stills with moving video. It's going to be an interesting way to share, once I learn how! I've made videos before-just quick ones with my Flip camera to share my journals and things like that, but making an artistic video is a whole different ballgame. I'm always up for a challenge and I look forward to the process.

Onward!

P.S. I have made 99 sales in my Etsy shop.
Whomever makes order #100 is going to get some extra goodies!
Ready? Set? GO!

The Post O'Many Links

Tools of the Trade

Reading: 

As I mentioned in my last post, I finally got my copy of Seth Apter's The Art of Mixed Media and read it cover to cover. Good stuff people!

 I also just finished Jonathan Kellerman's latest novel, Victims. If you like crime/psychological serials, this is my favourite. I've read everything he's written. His stories are delicious.

On a side note, Seth Apter & Jonathan Kellerman share some curious connections: they are both Psychologists, both authors and both artists. They also both hail from New York. Spooky! Seth, do you also play guitar?

Watching: 

I rented The Way from iTunes on a recommendation from my friend Michelle. I think it's one of the most beautiful films I've ever seen. The story is rich and multifaceted, the scenery is breathtaking and I was misty eyed through the entire thing. It's the kind of story that sticks with you long after it's over. Oh and if that's not enough to entice you, it stars Martin Sheen and was directed by his son, Emilio Estevez.

Listening:

Weighty Ghost by Canadian band, Wintersleep. Love this!

Also getting frequent play in the studio are the following tunes: 

20 Years by the Civil Wars, 

Hand in My Pocket by Alanis Morissette, 

and Amos Lee's new album As the Crow Flies.

Anticipating:

The entire month of May-it's going to be chock full of cool things: 

-Seth Apter will be here in Vancouver for his book tour for The Pulse of Mixed Media on May 3rd. I can't wait to finally meet him!

-The following weekend, May 12 & 13th, The Sketchbook Project is coming to Vancouver. I have a Sketchbook in the project. Looking forward to seeing sketchbooks from around the world.

-Around the 18th of May, (still waiting on the final details) I'll have the honour of carrying the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay medal, as a Difference Maker. That's going to be really exciting! 

Dreaming:

Mulling over ideas about photos I want to take for round two of Swan Dive, which begins tomorrow. (YAY!)

Doing:

-I'm getting ready for my first city council meeting this week, as a newly minted member of the Access-Ability Advisory Committee. Should be interesting!

-Working on lots of writing and HTML for the Papergirl Vancouver project. I participated as a contributing artist last year and decided it was such a great event that I wanted to support it this year by getting involved with the organizing committee. I'll have more info about how YOU can participate soon!

Creating:

Mainly I've been working on photography, which has stolen my heart over the last year. I've now been shooting for the last 14 months and will likely shoot straight through to the end of 2012. (By that I mean I'll keep taking classes and will be actively taking photos every week and working on them.) This is the first time I've worked so consistently in one medium, ever and it's really gratifying to have so much to show for it.

WHEW! That was alot of links!

Fragments Of Me

I'm DONE!! I finally completed my 2012 Sketchbook project and managed to complete it 2 two days before the deadline. (GO ME!)

I made a Flip video of so I could share it with you before I send it off. Please excuse how unfocused I seem-I was very under the weather when I filmed this yesterday with a pounding migraine and it's hard to think when that's happening.

In the video, I mentioned that I have postcards in my Etsy shop. If you're wondering where to find them, just click my etsy link on the side bar, et voila!

I've created a Flickr set for my Sketchbook Project if you want to see the pages up close. You can find it here. It was fun working on this. I did it very loosey goosey-I sewed some pages together ROD style and then just started laying stuff down and adding to it as I went along, with no real plan in mind. It was a good exercise in just going with the flow.
For those of you who are local, The Sketchbook Project is coming to Vancouver in May on the 15th & 16th. You will be able to see it for yourself at W2 Media Cafe, 111 W. Hastings St., Vancouver, BC. May is
shaping up to be a very busy month!

One Year Ends, Another Begins

This is how we spent the last day of 2011-hiking in the woods, on a lake, in the mountains. I revelled in the silence. Indy had a blast swimming. It was incredibly warm-at least 10C and blue skies. We live in paradise.

I am so pleased with this shot. I love how the light caught the drops of water hanging in the air as Indy plunges at top speed into the lake. The splash in front of him is his water Kong, which we throw and he lives to retrieve. When it comes to photographing my dog, I always use the "sports" setting on my camera, which snaps really quickly and allows me to capture great shots like this. Indy's very athletic, so he'd be nothing more than a blur if I used anything else.

All week long I worked on a year-end photo project and had planned to post it yesterday morning. I spent HOURS trying to upload it, but there have been some technical difficulties and right now I don't have the patience to re-do the entire project. I'm going to leave it for a bit and at some point when I am not so annoyed, I will revisit it. Sometimes, you just have to have the wisdom to know when to walk away.

I am working diligently on finishing my Sketchbook, which is due before the end of the month. I've been working on it in fits and starts. I am about 1/3 of the way there. It's the only project I have left from 2011 and I'll be tying up that loose end in the next week or so. After that, we'll see what comes next.

Another Layer

Here's yet another layer on one of the pages in my sketchbook. I have pretty much been working on it non-stop. My desk is a mess of paper bits that I keep shuffling and reshuffling as I add more and more to the pages. The real trick is working in all the cool elements I pulled from my stash.

I think when the pages are completed, before I sew them into the cover I am going to colour copy them and put the copies together in sketchbook form so I have one to keep for myself. It will make letting go of the original easier.

 These are the books from my personal library that I've been thumbing through off and on for inspiration.

 I picked this one up in the winter on Granville Island, thumbed through it and had to have it. I love the style of Sabrina's pages-very simple, but so interesting and effective. I like the deliberate messiness of it. Sometimes less is more.

 I got this one at Artfest the last time I went. It's got tons of ideas and articles in it about creating visual journals. There are sample pages from a variety of artists included. It's a great book to have on hand.

I ordered Teesha's 4 book set of her journal pages. Sometimes more is more! I love the colours she uses on her pages and I look at these over and over and over. Pure eyecandy!

I think I'm going to have to set the Sketchbook aside for a few days. I have another project with a deadline looming, that I've barely even started. {shh!} I need to figure out what I'm doing with it and get moving! Sometimes it's hard to set aside something I am inspired to work on, to work on something else that needs doing, but c'est la vie! Hopefully I can move through that project fairly quickly and get back to my sketchbook soon!

Still Breathin'!

I've been busy plugging away on my submission for the 2012 Sketchbook Project. I've managed to get a good start on 28 pages. This is just the first layer of one page you're getting a sneek peek of here. Since I took this photo, I've done a ton more work on all the pages. They've evolved quickly and for the most part, easily. It's been fun pulling bits of art from the past and combining it with new art and self portraits I've taken since the beginning of the year. I'm really loving how it's all coming together.

My friend Tina sent me a cd just before the postal strike and it's been the soundtrack of my work so far, in addition to a few songs recently downloaded from iTunes. Music is the heartbeat of my studio-no music, no creativity!

Other than that, I've been quiet this week because I'm not feeling very good. I think the sinus infection I had for half of April and all of May is trying to make a comeback. I've been couch surfing with Indy curled up at my feet, sipping tea and trying to will myself well. I have plans for the weekend that don't include a sinus migraine or lying in bed all day. I swear, if I stayed in bed every time I felt horrible, I'd never get anything done. I am the queen of powering through by sheer force of will, though I have to say, it's gettin' old, real fast!

Back soon with more sketchbook progress and perhaps some fresh photos taken with my shiney new Rebel! (Speaking of which, there's only one week left till Light Hunters begins. I cannot wait! I know it's going to be fa-bu-lous!)

Progress Report

 This is the state of my desk at this moment in time. I've been working on my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project 2012. So far I've cut 11 pages and started figuring out what to do with them.

Here's a peek at the very beginnings of a few of those pages. I go through the bits on my desk and play with them on the pages and when I see something I like, I use a paper clip to pin the pieces on that page. I'll go back later and figure out in what order I am going to sew them down to the page. (It's all about the aesthetics, ya know!) I do this process while listening to music. It's very relaxing.

I'm kinda diggin' the wabi-sabi* of this process-I'm using fragments of art I've made in the past, the techniques I've learned in Mary Ann Moss' ROD class and images I shot in Vivienne McMaster's Wading In self-portrait class. I'm definitely getting my money's worth from the knowledge I've gained from those two classes. I think when you learn something new, you need to keep working at it, to ingrain it to your art practice or those skills will fall away over time. Good thing for me that I've become addicted to sewing paper and shooting self-portraits!

I just took a short break to write this and now I'm diving back in. I'll post a progress report again soon!

*Wabi-sabi is the quintessential Japanese aesthetic. It is a beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete; of things modest and humble and unconventional.

Magic Mailbox: The Sketchbook Project

IT'S HERE!! YAY!!

Can you guess what I will be working on today?

Sifting

I am deep in the process of pulling yummy bits from my stash for my sketchbook for The Sketchbook Project. (This is only a fraction of what I've pulled.) I love this stage in a project because it's ripe with possibility.

I thought I would get a head start because we're having a rolling postal strike here in Canada, so I have no idea how long it's going to take my Sketchbook to arrive. When it does, I'll be able to hit the ground running!

If you're participating, give me a shout and a link-I want to see what you're doing too! My page is here. I'll will be sharing my progress as I go along for all of you who asked. I'm all for eyecandy!

Meanwhile, while I sift through piles of ephemera, here's what's playing in my studio:

Dig Down Deep ~Marc Cohen

Hard Times Come Again No More ~YoYo Ma & James Taylor

Back To Me ~Kathleen Edwards

Falling For the First Time ~Barenaked Ladies

Dream A Little Dream ~Eddie Vedder

These Friends Of Mine ~Rosie Thomas

The Sound of Silence ~Kina Grannis

Cup of Sorrow ~Amos Lee

The Afterlife ~ Paul Simon

You & Me ~Dave Matthews Band

Tonight You Belong To Me ~Eddie Vedder

Eclectic to be sure, but it's good stuff! Music is the life blood of this studio- no music, no art!

The Sketchbook Project

So just a couple days ago, my friend Penn told me about this project where you register, pick a theme as a jumping off point, order a sketchbook and it arrives with your name and a barcode on it. Once you have it in hand, you go forth and art it up, then mail it back to the project headquarters by January 31st, 2012.

Once the organizers have it in hand, your sketchbook joins thousands of others on a tour of North America. (Tours are also happening in the UK and Australia, but only include the sketchbooks from those regions.) In 2012, the collection will actually be making its way to VANCOUVER!!

While on tour, people can visit the exhibit and "check out" any of the sketchbooks they'd like to look at (I don't think they leave the venue) and the artist will get an email letting them know every time their work is viewed. Once the tour is over, the entire collection will reside in Brooklyn, NY at the Brooklyn Art Library. There's a little more to it than that, so if you want all the details, you can find them here.

The funny thing is that right after Penn and I talked about it, friends Michelle Allen and Sherry Smyth both posted about joining. I got to thinking how much fun it would be to go to the exhibit here and check out their sketchbooks in person and maybe take a photo of me with their books and send it to them...One thing led to another and I signed up!Now I just need to figure out how to upload my userpic on their site. I have a sneaking suspicion I can't do that till they have me logged into their system, which should happen early next week. I can't wait to have my sketchbook in hand so I can get started.

It's going to be a great project to work on over the summer. I'll be posting my progress, so feel free to follow along and if the spirits move you, to join in. If you join, I'm listed under my name, so be sure and "friend" me and I'll friend you back. The more, the merrier!