The Sketchbook Project comes to Melbourne

For several years I've wanted to participate in the Sketchbook Project, an initiative of Brooklyn Art Library in New York. But every year other projects intervened. Early in 2013 I finally managed to put some time aside. Even though I had other deadlines, somehow I also made this one and actually got my sketchbook posted to Brooklyn with time to spare (although admittedly not a lot). Since then it's toured parts of Canada and the US. But now, like a boomerang, it's come back, if only fleetingly. Last week sketchbooks from Australia and New Zealand, plus others from more far-flung parts of the world, were on view at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne.

My sketchbook, The Secret Sites of the Shadow Women, was an early experiment with silhouette forms. The Shadow Women were drawn onto pages cropped from a 1980s Gregory's Melbourne Street Directory. Each year potential sketchbook artists are given a broad range of themes from which to choose. Mine was More Mysterious Maps; my partner Shane Jones chose 1,703 Miles and Back for his sketchbook.

On Friday afternoon we called into the VCA and viewed a number sketchbooks. Some were randomly chosen, whilst others were by people with whom one or the other of us is acquainted, namely Helen Gory, Rebecca Mayo, Sally Darlinson and Soula Mantalvanos. We also revisited our own volumes, which, outside of a trip to Brooklyn, we never really expected to see again.

The two librarians were extraordinarily obliging, flexible, knowledgeable, cheerful and patient, even when the internet connection repeatedly crashed. I hope they took heart from the overwhelmingly positive responses to the books that emanated from a constant stream of excited visitors – there was a real buzz in the air. If only some of that energy could have been channeled into the VCA’s wonky internet connection.

The Sketchbook Project

VCA - University of Melbourne

234 St. Kilda Road

Dame Elisabeth Murdoch Building

Melbourne, VIC 3006

November 1st - 9th, 2013

The Secret Sites of the Shadow Women

Since my previous post, I've received notification from the Art House Co-op, coordinators of the Sketchbook Project, that my sketchbook arrived safely and has now been catalogued into the Brooklyn Art Library. It can be found on the shelves with a call number of 214.1-10.

In the coming weeks the sketchbook will be scanned into their Digital Library, after which time it can also be viewed online. Meanwhile, as promised, here is a preview of the inside pages of The Secret Sites of the Shadow Women, complete and unabridged. Photography is by Tim Gresham.

Click on images to enlarge.

The Sketchbook Project

Back in February I signed up for the Sketchbook Project, an initiative of Brooklyn Art Library in New York. It’s a challenge I’ve wanted to take on for awhile, partly to see if it would help me to mend my ways: try as I may, I’ve never exactly been known for my neat, organized sketchbooks.

Each year the completed sketchbooks embark on a series of road trips within the US and occasionally across the border into Canada. Each tour has a specific theme. Initially I chose Capes, Masks and Tights, which should have been a perfect fit for the Moth Woman Vigilantes. But as I read more about this theme, it seemed that the project was primarily aimed at cartoonists and graphic novelists, which doesn't reflect the current direction of my own work.

After giving the matter considerable thought, I decided to change my theme to Mysterious Maps, because I could see a way of incorporating it with my current imagery, as well as extending its narrative scope. My sketchbook, The Secret Sites of the Shadow Women, comprises a series of surrealist silhouettes drawn in a range of artist-quality black felt pens. I chose this medium, which I've never drawn with before, because acrylic paint caused the paper to buckle. India ink produced a similar result. It also dried to a glossy, patent leather-like surface, which was definitely not what I was after. The translucent, semi-transparency of the quick-drying felt pens perfectly suited my purposes, both technically and conceptually.

The book could equally be called The Shadow Women of Suburbia; all the drawings are on pages clipped from the 1982-83 edition of Gregory's Melbourne Street Directory. (Incidentally, according to Wikipedia, the 75th and final Gregory's street directory was published in 2011).

There was a major benefit in drawing onto the maps, rather than directly into the sketchbook. Its pages are quite thin, and the ink would have severely bled through. As I wanted the book's layout to bear some resemblance to a real street directory, I needed to use both sides of every page.

Because I've been making artist's books this year, I couldn't help but bring something of that sensibility to this project - the sketchbook even has a Colophon page. But a few technical setbacks (quite a few, actually) during the gluing stage, forced me to think on my feet and not be quite so precious about it. Some miscalculations were also turned into strengths. For example, after placing the image on the front cover too far to the right, I added a faux strip of 'book binding tape', drawn in with felt pen.

The next step is to register the book and send it on its way to Brooklyn. After it concludes its tour, the sketchbook will reside in the permanent collection of Brooklyn Art Library.

To see inside the book, watch for my next blog post.