Downtown Doodler: Along The Line, A Sketchbook Project

I’d like to give a big thank you to the person who told me about   the   Art House Co-op   and their annual   Sketchbook Project.   This little 5″x7″ book has changed my life.    FINALLY I got to cross off “finish and entire sketchbook” off my bucket list. Most importantly, I discovered some amazing artists through the sketchbook project hashtag on twitter.   Charlotte Valance,   Rob Jelinski,   Melissa Minsky   and many others, inspire me with every blog post, tweet and photo.

Putting together a cohesive collection of drawings all revolving around my personally chosen common theme, Along the Line, was something I have never done. Usually I draw one off pieces with whatever random idea is floating through my head on any given day. This project made me think, plan, sketch, edit and think some more. Although there are things I wish I changed and did differently, this was definitely a good first Sketchbook Project.

Art House Co-op is an independent Brooklyn-based company that organizes global, collaborative art projects. Their flagship endeavor is the Sketchbook Project: an evolving library featuring more than 12,000 artists’ sketchbooks from 100 countries and counting. They also operate the  Brooklyn Art Library  and Brooklyn Archives, their storefront spaces in the heart of Williamsburg.  They have fostered an amazing community of artists and ideas. I’m  also excited for the other projects they have been organizing. I already signed up for the Adventure Project, the Photo Response Project, the Map Project  AND the Limited Edition Sketchbook Project  with the theme ‘Last Word Ever Spoken’. I can’t wait to share it with you in the up coming months

Here are two of my favorite spreads from my Sketchbook Project 2012, titled ‘Along the Line’:

The 2012 Sketchbook Project World Tour kicks off April 14th at the Brooklyn Art Library, featuring thousands of sketchbooks contributed by artists from 102 countries! Over the course of 2012, the Sketchbook Project Tour will visit 14 cities in four countries. You are welcome to come and view all the sketchbooks as you want. Each book is scanned when you view it, and the artist is notified.

Some people, like me, just submit a plain old sketchbook with some drawings and that’s it. Other people go above and beyond like my new friend Rob.  In addition to amazing spreads, he created some beautiful of tour memorabilia, an original and free album and even a trailer called “One Day,” which you can check out on youtube here. It depicts his journey on the subway, en route to the Brooklyn Art Library to submit his 2012 sketchbook.

On March 31st Rob is taking one step further and throwing a pre-release exhibit.  He was kind enough to ask me to attend this event and doodle on some Starbucks cups in the crowd! I’m so excited to be a part of this amazing event. If you are interested in attending, check out the official tour page of  ‘A Book Called Forever’. Keep an eye out next week for an artist spotlight on Rob and his work as well as more details on the event.

 You can check out the rest of my  2012 Sketchbook Project  ‘Along the Line’ here.  And don’t forget if you want to see me doodle in person, or just enjoy a night of great music and art you should check out the    ‘A Book Called Forever’ pre-release exhibit.

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Have a great week!