The Sketchbook Project is a brainstorm of the Art House Co-op, which has its physical location in the Brooklyn Art Library. Blank sketchbooks are available for purchase; the buyer chooses a theme from the year’s list and is sent a book with a personalized barcode on the back: name and hometown appear on the label, and those plus theme are encoded into the barcode. The completed books must be sent back by the end of January of the title year and go on tour starting in April, with 14 locations (though in 2012 London and Melbourne will include only European and Australian books, respectively). People check out the books to look through them, which means the artists can find out how much their books are being selected, and after the tour is over the books are housed permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library.
After witnessing my sister waffle about doing the project this year, I waffled myself – there was a tempting theme, and finally I decided that if I didn’t complete my sketchbook, I was comfortable with having made a donation to the Art House Co-op.
My sketchbook arrived May 16, giving me eight and a half months to complete it. Since then I’ve had notepaper with me all the time – I always carry paper in my purse, but now I have it in the little mesh bag I tote around at the gym, for making notes on the exercise bike. I’m hoping the deadline will inspire completion, but the ideas are not – so far – sufficient to fill it, so let me know if you have suggestions along the way for themes or images.
My theme? Stitches and folds. Naturally. It was difficult to convince myself to mark the first page, but ultimately, that step had to be taken, so I just freehanded something. The inaugural work:
Don’t ask to see the back – I haven’t decided what to do with it yet.
I think that’s beautiful.
How does embroidery on paper compare to cloth in terms of speed? I suggest you have some pages that are reasonably plain, like just parallel lines or cross-hatch. Or a spiral starting from the middle using color-changing thread. Actually, those both would have a really neat tactile element to them too (as would all of them, I suppose). Would cross-stitch on paper be possible? You could also sew in pieces of cloth, use varying sizes of thread/yarn in your stitches, and use all the various settings on the sewing machine.
I wonder if there’s anything you could put on the paper to reduce ripping. Maybe a coat of acrylic paint or gesso? I’m not sure, but iHanna probably knows – she’s stitched paper many times before.
Thanks! I would like it if the bubbles were more round, but some of that is the thread’s fault.
I expect paint or gesso would make it too inflexible – the stiffness is one of the things that makes it more difficult to sew. That and the fact that you don’t want to accidentally crease it. I didn’t have any problems with ripping. Actually, the only other problem is that of course any holes you make are permanent so it takes extra care to make sure you’re always putting the needle in the right place. Definitely slower than embroidery on fabric.
You can do any kind of embroidery on paper that you want – the only special thing about cross-stitch fabric is that it helps you make even stitches. You just always run into the “what do I do with the back?” question!
Also, funnily enough, it had not occurred to me to use my sewing machine on the sketchbook. That would be faster and have the advantage of front/back symmetry.