The Sketchbook Project 2012 World Tour

My friend, visual artist and taiko drummer Yurika Chiba, wrote on her blog I Make Things Out of Paper about a worldwide project she's participating in--The Sketchbook Project.

"Mari" by Yurika Chiba

The Art House Co-op writes:

Thousands of sketchbooks will be exhibited at galleries and museums as they make their way on tour across the world. To receive a sketchbook and participate in the project [fee: $25], choose a theme from the list [on the website]. After the tour, all sketchbooks will enter into the permanent collection of The Brooklyn Art Library, where they will be barcoded and available for the public to view.

Sketchbook Project tour locations include 14 venues in as many cities, including London and Melbourne and a new space in San Francisco--a Pacific outpost they hope will be permanent.

Themes include: It's Winter Where You Are; Things Found Under Car Seats; In 50 Years; and many more. Each sketchbook is given a bar code and cataloged so that it's tracked every time it is viewed on tour or at the art library; then you can log in at the website to see the stats!

It's a great way to get your work out into the world. As an artist you can upload a bio--including notes, history, resume, blog link, whatever--featured online with your digitized sketchbook ($20 fee).

Sign up by October 31st! Postmark your book by Jan. 31st. Tour begins April 2012.

If you love PAPER, pencils and pens as much as I do, you must check out the Art House blog, where I came across this short film by Lauren Nash. It documents her gorgeous sketchbook "And Then There Was None"--including her artistic approach, emotional process and poignant themes: