The Sketchbook Project sneaky peek

Well, I've finished!  It's complete!  I think.... is a journal ever done?  Truly?  I am declaring that I am done with mine!  If you don't know what The Sketchbook Project is, it's a little like a concert tour but with sketchbooks.  Each artist pays a fee and gets a sketchbook and a theme.  I had them pick a random theme for me because I couldn't choose.  I liked so many.  I figured that it would push me creatively anyways.  I got "Mystery Maps" which is funny because I've been saving all these map papers and atlases.  So it was perfect to get me started!  I started by gathering a bunch of stuff.  Maps, atlas pages, stamps, favorite images, world themed ephemera, and all sorts of art materials (paints, pens, brushes, inks, watercolor pencils, and such). I sat down one day and glued two pages together.  I decided to do that with the entire book because the papers were thin and there were so many of them that it was daunting.  After using gel medium to glue the pages together, I jumped right in and started making backgrounds.  I just painted, stamped, collaged, and made a general mess!  It was so wonderful!  I felt alive... like a journey.  Excited and scared all at once. 

Here are a few of my finished pages:

My cover

Soar... a bit of a zendoodle in wing outline over maps

X marks the spot... a fun pirate map page

Some fun fonts 

Textured birds with map houses (There's No Place Like Home)

I truly LOVE my Faber-Castell watercolor pencils!  YUM!

As the crow flies- I see a bird theme here... I can't seem to stay away from it!

There are many more but I am waiting on some matte medium to dry and then I'll photograph those to share.  I can't wait to see the show and to see everyone else's interpretations.  This was a great project and I'll definitely do it again next year!