SBP: the 1,703 miles and back tour

This week I finally got the chance to finish and turn in my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project's "1,703 miles and back" tour.  This tour isn't going to be visiting me here in LA, but it will travel to parts of the mid-west for others to see. Since I won't be visiting it until sometime in the future when we make a trip out to NY to finally see the Brooklyn Art Library in the flesh, I figured I would show you some of my sketches here.

If you remember, the theme of my sketchbook was "To Plant a Garden..." and I filled it with all sorts of things growing in our back yard.  Here are some of my favorites...

XO

   

The Sketchbook Project in LA

As many of you might know, I have been a participant of The Sketchbook Project since the grand 2013 tour. I stayed up late, drank lots of coffee, and at the last minute I sent a sketchbook full of coffee drawings and doodles off to New York to be a part of this project. Since I submitted my book back in January, it's been on a tour of the country, stopping in more cities that I can say that I have visited in person.  I've been following their tweets and the blog, and this last weekend, they finally came to LA! 

It's an understatement to say that I was excited... though I think I did a good job of containing it.  After having followed it online for so long, it was hard to believe my book was finally making an appearance. And just up the street from my hospital! 

E and I spent Friday night on a mission to see the project.  We spent a good hour of that time just circling the block trying to figure out where this mobile library was hiding. On the plus side we got to see some parts of Silver Lake that we wouldn't have stopped at otherwise (including coffee at Intelligentsia and dinner at Home - yumm!). But when we finally found it, it was just too cool! 

I loved it so much I went back on Sunday with my mom, step dad, and brother. It was really a cool experience to connect with so many people through a sketchbook they submitted the same way I had.  Check out some of the pictures from that night. 

waiting in line to get a library card.... e got in the shot

checked out mom's book

official card carrying member

e checked out my book

i checked out this book....

hey! that's me!

I'm working on another book for this amazing project. It's due next week and I still have about 6 paintings left to do. This one's all about the garden, and a whole different book than my first entry.  

The sketchbook project is an amazing thing... you can fill your book with art, writing, pictures, anything. If you're looking to be a part of something BIG - this is it, and I really recommend being a part of it. Check out more at www.thesketchbookproject.com

XO

To Plant a Garden....

First page spread of this year's Sketchbook Project DONE!  Now to finish the rest of it by August!! 

The Sketchbook Project: book binding

This year, my mom and I are participating the The Sketchbook Project for the second time. This time, as a part of the "1703 miles and back tour."  One of the big challenges we faced last time (other than time constraints!) was that we had the flimsy paper that came with the sketchbook and it really wasn't conducive to the water based art we both wanted to include (or, in my case, coffee based). AFTER turning in the project with wrinkled pages, we realized that we could have, and should have, rebound the book with paper that would have actually worked for us.  

We actually sort of signed up for this project as a sort of do-over, knowing that we would get it bound with better paper and then be able to create better art and with more time to complete it!  So I followed these instructions, with some modifications for the measurements and the number of signatures (the instructions were not 100% correct), and after lots and lots of paper cutting, and actually doing the stitching of the pages twice, just to make sure it was extra sturdy, I have my finished product! 

I love that it turned out so official looking. I've actually purchased sketchbooks that are bound this way and it was super fun to know that I could get it done myself. I should mention though, that it was a very long process, especially given the flaws in the instructions, and the fact that I was trying to work little bits at a time without a clue as to what I was really doing. I'm not sure that I will quit my day job and become a book binder any time soon, but I think I've got the hang of it now, and maybe I'll try it again sometime soon.

The Sketchbook Project 2013.

A few months back you may have heard me mentioned that I signed up to be a part of the Brooklyn Art Library's Sketchbook Project 2013. It was a bit of a leap for me to sign up and commit to filling up this little sketchbook with doodles and drawings, but it seemed totally worth it to say you have a sketchbook on tour, and to possibly go visit it throughout the country (awesome excuse  reason to travel too!).

But low and behold, life caught up to me. It was just a few months away from the wedding and drawing got put on the back burner. I had determined that I wanted my book to focus around coffee somehow, but I really didn't know how. I decorated the super cool cover (my favorite part, srsly), and then I didn't actually start drawing until we were on the plane headed for our honeymoon destination. It's been 3 months of drawing here and there, painting a little, and drinking a lot of coffee, but today is the day. 

The deadline. Today this little book is getting shipped to Brooklyn to be logged and categorized, to be placed on a shelf in hopes that someone might care to pick it up. It's going to tour the country and see places I haven't seen yet. And maybe someone will see it along the way. It will find it's way back to Brooklyn at the end of the year and make a home among shelves full of books just like it. 

I am super excited to say that I have contributed to this amazing collaborative project. I wish I could say that my drawings were a sample of my best work. Procrastination does me in all too often. But there are definitely parts I like, and if anything, this book is a reflection of my first three months being married, told in drawings and doodles and words, and mainly in cups of coffee.

If you're interested in participating in something cool, please check out the Brooklyn Art Library. If you're around the US of A, check tour dates and maybe you might get to peak at my book, and my mom's too!

XO

The Sketchbook Project: Instagrammed

Now that things are getting a bit more settled around here, I'm trying to find some time to get to draw and sketch and just do my thing. The Sketchbook Project has taken the back burner for a while, and now I only have less than 2 months to get it filled up and sent in to the Brooklyn Art Library in New York.  I don't want to start filling up pages with nonsense just to say I did, but I do want to keep at it. 

As you can see, it's coffee themed. I'm practically a diagnosable coffee addict, and I've just about always got a cup o' joe in my hand, so why not sketch out what's going on or what I'm doing or seeing or thinking over all of these cups of coffee? 

Blog declaration! I am pledging to try to get through one sketch a day this week.  I will try to post them on here, or on my instagram (@anikohar). Follow me to see the pics and updates.   Another blog declaration:  To try to get at least 5 thank you cards done per day, or their total equivalent.  I'm making good progress but I have to stay motivated and get through them all. Now you've I've got to be accountable to all you blog readers out there (anyone out there??). 

Anyway - as you can tell from the Monday Morning picture - I've just gotten home from work a few hours ago, and I'm getting tired. It's time for bed and time for this coffee to wear off.   

XO

The Sketchbook Project

On Tuesday I was sitting at home after a day of running around and shopping, checking things off of my to-do list.  I love to sit and tackle my BlogLovin' feed all at once, usually with a good cup of coffee. But on Tuesday, Mom and I went to Billy's deli for dinner and had Kreplach soup and split a Reuben sandwich, and ate their most amazing pickles. So I was chugging water to keep from swelling up, and reading through my posts. Not that any of that matters.  

So I came upon a new blog I've been following, It's Me, KP. I started following her a week or so ago when Elise posted about her East Coast vs West Coast style swap with Kelly Purkey (KP). I had only really grazed any of the posts, and hadn't sat down to really read any yet. But since watching HIMYM, and feeling like experiencing fall in Manhattan, I had been itching to watch a Woody Allen movie. So when I was looking around her blog, I was drawn to the NYC section, where I soon found this post about the Brooklyn Art Library, where, of course, the pictures had me captivated and the words Sketchbook Project had me hooked. 

I started reading all about this amazing project where thousands of sketchbooks are created and sent in, then tour the country for a year, before finding a permanent home in the Brooklyn Art Library.  HOW COOL IS THAT!?!?  

I love sketching, doodling, writing, documenting, whatever. It's all possible, and I love that with this project, your work is out there for someone to see. I love projects that get people inspired and motivated to be creative. We both signed up to create our own sketch book and be a part of the 2013 project. I'm so excited and can't wait for our sketchbooks to arrive!  

XO