Sketchbook Project 2012 in London

 Lynn Brown  A Garden of ones own

I had a wonderful time on Monday evening at Canda Water Library  looking through the European and Australian entries for the Sketchbook Project 2012. I  signed up for a library card and then selected 2 books at a time  using the computer. You could  choose a local or random selection or search by theme, material or artist. The first one I received  using the local search was from someone  I know from CQ(below)!! I started chatting with the ladies next to me and we started swapping books that looked interesting. I've looked at sketchbooks using the digital library but it doesn't compare to handling them . The lovely book above had a large fold out centre which just doesn't show up in the digital version and the cut out holes weren't so evident.  I enjoyed how the theme was carried over from page to page in both these books  

 Elizabeth Vidler

 Bhavinor Gor

Many books used the paper the sketchbook came with ( I replaced mine with khardi papers)  but a lot of people had stuck drawings or paintings in - even small canvases (above) and copies of ipad drawings (below)

 Bronte Howell

 Helen Walsh

Some people had played around with the format. The mainly textile piece above was in a concertina with pages of fabric or paper stitched together, a bit difficult to handle without dropping it.  The one below (unfortunately not digitised )was just 4 pages (8 sides) Encrusted with layers of metallic stitching it was jewel-like. 

 Sandra Chapman

There was a bit of a hiatus while the computer crashed  but the queue was good-natured and  took it in turns to look through the returns pile. I took the opportunity to ask one of the librarians to track down my book which she did. It was good to see it again and several people around me were admiring it which was very gratifying! 

 Margaret Ramsay -Grey Side of Life

Yvonne Stubbington

The sketchbook I most wanted to take home was a charming, funny,  beautifully crafted  illustrated story - the  voyage of HMS Poodle(above)  but I got to take home a souvenir handrawn sticker  thoughtfully included in the back.

Even in a relatively short perusal in a couple of hours, there was so much variety and I got so much pleasure from handling other peoples treasures.  I  preferred those that had a cohesive theme followed through, something I did for my 'Limited Edition' Sketchbook.  Seeing so many possibilities has sent me searching through the digital library again (although no substitute for the real thing) giving me several ideas for being more adventurous with Sketchbook Project 2013 .