Have Art: Will Travel

   I have found that when I travel, I feel completely "naked" if I don't carry along some art projects on which to work. Most of the time this is easy, because I usually have a few pieces in process that are laying about the studio. At other times I find myself frantically pulling something together to take along.
  The easiest thing to bring is hand work, because, usually  I don't have a sewing machine at vacation destinations. (Although I have been known to pack one) Handwork is never a problem, as I love to do it.
   Below is an example of a piece I just took along on a recent trip. It was a quilt sandwich that I created to practice thread tension and various stitches on the machine. I liked the looks of it, and decided to do a little beading and will perhaps add some hand stitching as well. At any rate, this is what it looks like so far.

click on picture for a close up view

     I also try to never be without my camera or my sketchbook/journal. This is true on a daily basis as well as while traveling.
   What about you? Do you have certain things that you feel at loose ends without on a daily basis?  If so, what are they?

The Sketchbook Project Tour 2011

 These are a few of the pages I have completed for the Sketchbook Project. What is this project, you ask? Well, it is a large endeavor put together by Art House Co-op. Anyone can participate. You only have to order a small sketchbook from them, with a theme...either chosen by you or assigned by them. I read about it in a magazine and decided to check it out. The plan is that all these participating sketchbooks will tour the country, and will ultimately reside in the Brooklyn Art Library, 201 Richards St #16, Brooklyn, NY.

 The theme for my sketchbook is " I'm a scavenger".  This suites me perfectly, as I am truly a scavenger. I collect "things" where ever I go. They may be man-made or of nature, but like a crow, I snatch them up and bring them with me to the studio. The only problem I have encountered is that right after I received my sketchbook in the mail, I promptly "lost" it. And, as the saying goes..."out of sight, out of mind."  That was way back in July. I managed to "uncover" it in September, and have been occasionally working on it since. I decided to use acrylic medium to "glue" pages together, so that I would have half as many to do, since time became a factor. I also tried some gesso on  a few pages, and that really has helped with any water media I have chosen. The paper in the book is rather thin.

 This has been a fun and learning experience for me. It was hard at first, to look at this BLANK book and not freeze-up, so I decided to just dive in there, right or wrong. A scary prospect.  It was also difficult knowing that I will not be the ultimate owner of this book. So, I decided to forget about that, knowing that I can take pictures, and document my work.

 Are any of you involved in this project? I would love to hear what you are doing with your little book. In the meantime, stay tuned for more updates. It needs to be postmarked by January 15th, so things will be happening quickly here in Studio 202.