The Sketchbook Project

Art House Co-op started with the idea of bringing art to the masses by creating "massive, international art projects that tie thousands of artists together - and anyone can participate."

Not that they're ambitious or anything.

Their most popular project is The Sketchbook Project. Participants sign up, select their theme (or roll the dice and have a theme assigned to them), pay their $25, and are given a Moleskine (my favorite!) Cahier sketchbook and a deadline. Participants take their notebook and assigned theme and create an artistic masterpiece using whatever medium, creative juices, and flattened muses they wish - as long as it fits in the sketchbook.

Completed sketchbooks must be postmarked by Jan. 15th, 2011, and sent back to them. Then in March the sketchbooks go on tour to be exhibited in galleries and museums all over the country. "It's like a concert tour, but with sketchbooks." When tour is complete, they go into the permanent collection of the Brooklyn Art Library where they can be checked out to the public. Brilliant, right?

While I was out of town, I missed the Oct. 31st deadline to sign up for this year, but due to overwhelming demand they extended the deadline until Nov. 15th. YAY!! I signed up today and will hopefully have the sketchbook in hand within the week. My theme: "This is not a sketchbook". I debated between that and "A record year for rainfall", "And then there were none", and "happy thoughts". I might still do a happy thoughts page in my sketchbook because I did a neato piece on that subject using some hand-carved stamps.

I can't wait to get started.