One day in early 2019, I saw an ad for an art project hosted by the Brooklyn Library. You purchase a sketchbook from them for $30, fill it up with sketches, and then return it. It is then shelved and put into circulation. Each book has its own bar code so you can track it to see if/when it is checked out.

I’ve always loved to draw, though I can’t say I was always good at it. Art classes over the years taught me a few techniques, but I can’t say I’m an artist. When I sit down to draw something, there’s a 50/50 chance that it will be good or just plain terrible, at least to me. What helps is when I take my time. I tend to set deadlines for myself, telling myself that I have to finish a certain piece in a specific amount of time. That can cause me to rush.

With this project, I don’t want to rush. While they have deadlines set in terms of featuring your specific sketchbook, they won’t necessarily reject yours as long as it meets all of their set guidelines, such as size, thickness, and materials used. Best of all, this is the chance to have a book of my own in circulation at a library, one of those goals that all writers set out to achieve.

 

Deciding on a theme

The challenge of completing a sketchbook as an author is that this story will not be a written one. It will be a visual one. The project provides a list of suggested themes with their instructions, but they also encourage artists to draw whatever they want. I’ve decided to make my book Pittsburgh-themed.

Pittsburghers are everywhere. We are born here, and then we scatter throughout the country. Look at the crowd in any Steelers away game for proof of this. So, I think it would be fun for relocated Pittsburghers to be scanning The Sketchbook Project shelf in New York and see a book of their hometown featured in the collection.

Preparation

I also have a ton of pictures of the city to work off from. I’ve got my tracing paper ready, and I’m hoping to transfer my photographs onto the tracing paper and then onto the sketchbook paper provided. Then, I can make the picture my own, playing with different colors, tools, and mediums to add a little creativity to each piece. The book is only 5”x7” so each drawing is going to be concentrated into a small space.

The project encourages artists to take the book apart, add or remove pages, and rebound it when finished. I was reluctant to do this at first, afraid that I would ruin the book by trying to take it apart, but it just comes stapled together so I was able to pry the pages loose fairly easily. Now, I have individual pieces of paper to work off of.

Since I am working off of photographs, I plan to make most of my drawings horizontal. So, even the cover will probably be horizontal. This should help it to stand out. I’m off to a good start so far, having transferred my first traced photograph onto the sketchbook paper.

I’ve written down a list of places that I’m going to feature: the ballparks, the rivers, the landscapes, the museums, etc. All that is left is trying to put them into some sort of order that makes sense but still works as a sort of collage as the city. I don’t want to put all of the museums together or all of the sports-themed drawings together. I don’t want iconic angles, like the view from Mt. Washington or an aerial view of Heinz Field. I want to show the city as I know it. That’s where the photographs should come in handy.

Learn more about The Sketchbook Project!

This project was such a good idea. Hopefully, I can make it to Brooklyn one day to see it for myself. There are tons of samples online to view from those who paid extra to have their book digitized. Each book is so unique, but most are simple and show off the artist’s personality more than their skills. I’m hoping that I can create a sketchbook that is worthy of inclusion into the project so that I can have a book at the library with my name on it that I can be proud of.

If you’re interested in participating in The Sketchbook Project or just want to learn more about it, click here: https://www.sketchbookproject.com/

To see how my sketchbook turned out, check out my post: Finishing My Brooklyn Library Sketchbook. 

Buy it!

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