This post was written in 2019. Sadly, the Booklyn Art Library closed in 2023 after 17 years.
Over a year ago, I wrote on this blog about a sketchbook that I made for the Brooklyn Art Library in the USA. You can see that post here.
Brooklyn Art Library is a shop, community space and repository for (currently 45,000) sketchbooks. It was a crowd-funded operation started in 2006 by founder and director Steven Peterman.
Roughly half of the sketchbooks exist in digital form and my fish sketchbook was digitised for the library.
Anyone who buys a sketchbook can submit work, so there is all kinds of everything in this archive – it’s a fascinating idea. This is a short extract of a statement from the founder:
“By allowing anyone to participate, we have grown to a massive worldwide community of not only professionals, but amateurs, moms, dads, mailmen and more. We do not believe in the statement ‘I’m not an artist.” Because it doesn’t matter. Share your story, draw your stick figures, just own it. We can promise you a lifelong commitment to keeping your artifact safe, while continuing to act as a time capsule for global creativity.”
I did a second sketchbook, this time using fabrics and appliqué, using my sewing machine to ‘draw’. This is something I did often when I studied for my textiles degree at Art College and it was lovely to return to this process. (I think I should do it more!)
This time I didn’t pay to have the book digitised. I plan to have some cards printed of some of the objects I drew. Here’s my thimble!
It was fun to receive an email a month or so ago from the Brooklyn Art Library to say that this sketchbook had been out and about in their mobile library.
Thank you for reading my blog. Quilt patterns are here, Fabrics are here, Classes are here.
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Amanda Jane Textiles 