My Moly for Exchange 42 Is Ready to Send

This is the one I'll be sending to Jenn.


And this is the one I'll be putting together at home.

My theme is maps. I can stare at a map for hours. They spark my imagination like nothing else can. The details written on the page take form in my head. It doesn't matter what type of map it is—schematic diagrams do the same thing, so my theme is pretty flexible. Real or imaginary, I'm sure I'll enjoy it.

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Ridin' Along...

...minding his own business, and he ends up being sketched. Imagine the absurdity!



I'm thinking he graduated from college fairly recently. Don't know what gave me that impression...hmmm. We'll just call it a hunch.

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Fun Day in Art

What a treat I had awaiting me in the snail box this evening. There was only one envelope, but it was fat with goodness. I fed the cat, fed me, changed into afterwork chillin' clothes, and cracked open an envelope full of ATCs! The ATCs from the Everyday Matters group arrived today, and they are so beautiful!!!! I will take some snaps and post them eventually, but I think you, gentle reader, need to experience a little of the anticipation I felt. Then I will let you off the hook.

In the meantime, here's Gimli preparing to pounce on my toes.



No wait, that wasn't what I wanted to show you. Now what was it again? Hmmm...let me see...oh yes. I've begun a new project. Hitched myself to a group of very talented artists in a Moleskine Exchange (the 42nd such group conceived).

Now, here's the concept. We each purchase a Japanese Album fold Moleskin. In that Moleskine we create a piece of art covering several of the accordion-folded pages, and then we mail it off to the next person in our rotation. That person creates a piece of art on the next few pages, and ties it into the original art. Then they ship it to the next person in the rotation. Step. Repeat. Step. Repeat. Until, voila, your Moleskine returns to you filled with the creative brilliance of everyone in the group.

The Moleskine can be assigned a theme, or it can be a free-for-all of art. Whatever you choose. Great idea, no?

So this past weekend, I managed to create the sign-in spreads in a couple of Moleskines. Why are there two, you ask? Because I'm going to send one off on its round-the-world voyage (which really will be around the world), and the other will remain here with me. The one that stays will get copies of all the art I do in everyone else's Moleskine—at least I hope so. I guarantee I'll do theirs, and hopefully I'll do mine too.

Each person gets a month with a Moleskine before they need to send it on its merry way.



In the back I've written out my address, so it will eventually return to me, and I've asked each of the participants to include a little something from their countries. There are 10 participants in our group. Four are from the U.S., two from the U.K., one from the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Mexico, and I'm not sure who I'm missing. Anyway, this sucker's gonna travel—I wish I could go with it!

You can follow along on the progress at our group blog: http://moleskinex42.blogspot.com/



By the time it returns, I'll no longer be contemplating a blank page, I'll be savoring the turn of each folio.



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EDM 139: Something With a Handle

How about the handle itself?

To a "T"

Made a few sketches this weekend, but it wasn't until I was scanning them and naming the files that I realized my propensity to draw objects beginning with the letter "T". The tomato plant happened to be a very good model. That's the least it could do since it keeps teasing me with little green tomatoes.



There's really no good reason for this unusual focus of mine. No tall, dark stranger with a letter "T" prominent in his name has wandered into my life. I did not see a Model T on the highway over the weekend. I DID drink a lot of iced tea—as evidenced by the above picture. As a matter of fact, I believe I was drinking a glass of iced tea while I was drawing the sun tea brewing. Could be a conspiracy. Come to think of it, since the Boston Tea Party, tea has not really enjoyed the same level of divisive fame, and it could be looking for a little of the old spotlight. I'll have to keep an eye on those teabags to see what they're brewing.

Sorry, yes, I had to go there.



Now you could argue that this last one is more about the circus performer than it is about the tent, but then you'd just be lookin' to interfere with my mojo, and why would you want to do a thing like that?!?

For the record, the tent came first. It was a two line doodle that turned into a tent. The circus performer started from the feet, but the torso was illusive, so what's an artist to do? Why draw a Pacman eating the performer of course! Ha, can't believe you didn't see that one coming...sheesh.

Perhaps I've struck gold for drawings with a theme—pick a letter, any letter, and find the objects to fill the book. That really doesn't sound very exciting. Sounds a little more like dictionary manufacture.

I think I'll just revel in this happy coincidence, and move on. Or perhaps I'll submit them to the shrink and see what my psyche is telling me. Yo, Nan, I'm thinking you were hungry, thirsty and bored! That'll be $568.02, please. NEXT!

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