2011 sketchbook project

Do you know about the wonderful 2011 sketchbook project? When you sign up you're sent a simple moleskin sketchbook which you are to fill (according to your chosen theme) by the deadline [15th January, 2011]. Then, the thousands of sketchbooks submitted will be exhibited at galleries and museums on a tour across the United States. But note: anyone in the world can enter! How cool is that?

This is the part I like: 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. Also, you can opt to digitise your sketchbook so people who can't go to see them on the tour in person can flip through them on the web.

I've just signed up! I love drawing, I love sketchbooks, I love the concept behind this project, and I love Brooklyn.

renegade craft fair

Yesterday we braved the heat again and set out to find the Brooklyn Renegade Art Fair in the Greenpoint area. It was a bit of a trek but we found it in the end. The funny thing was the directions said that it was at the McCarren Park Pool but we didn't expect it to be in the pool itself! That is, the pool was drained of water and you stepped down into it to walk around and look at the stalls. I'm not sure if the pool is actually used anymore as it looked quite old. But what a great venue for a craft fair! The posters pictured above are screen printed ones advertising the fair over the past few years. They were really gorgeous.

Etsy had a prominent stall there which is good to see. And I also recognised some etsy sellers there like Tugboat Prints and Fun Cupcake. There were lots of really cool screen printed tees being sold and the vibe of the market generally was great. It reminded me of the Rose St Artist Market in Melbourne but about 5-6 times the size!


And we went to DUMBO in Brooklyn on Saturday, which stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass because it really is. It's also right near the beginning of the famous Brooklyn Bridge so I had to take a few pics of that. That's Manhattan in the background, in case you ever doubted it.

printing in brooklyn

It's lovely to have a bit more green space around us in Brooklyn. We moved over here today (the very funky Park Slope area) from Manhattan because there's a lot going on in this neighbourhood over the next week that we want to get to. Also we have a friend who lives here and swears that this is where all the interesting stuff in New York is happening. So far it looks fantastic.

I was able to stroll down to Lotta Jansdotter's studio this evening for her interactive print session to launch her new book: Lotta Prints. What a lot of fun that was! Lots and lots of people came along to participate and as a printmaker, I think it's really, really inspiring that so many people are getting interested in printing by hand on fabric.

Quite a number of people were having a go at printing on fabric swatches using carved potatoes, lino blocks, and paper stencils. And others were checking out Lotta's beautiful products and books and standing around chatting and drinking wine. I bought one her new books and even have it signed :) Now how nice is that? I can tell already that I'm not going to want to go home in a week's time.

fabulous brooklyn

I braved the heat and humidity today and took the subway to Brooklyn to find myself in the middle of the Atlantic Ave Art Walk. What good timing! I found the just opened Fact and Fantasy where the lovely Kristen from Moontea Art has her block printed bags and pouches stocked (images above). Her work looked just beautiful there on the walls. Yay Kristin! The girls from Fact and Fantasy have a wonderful collection of hand made goodies and a sweet little shop too.

Another great find on Atlantic Ave was Artez'n who also stock a lot of local artists/crafters.

It was hot out there today and will be again tomorrow. If you can cope with the heat and are in the area check out all that great Brooklyn art on offer because it's on again tomorrow. A lot of artists have their studios open to the public too.