Putting together "In and Out of the Ordinary" for The 2021 Sketchbook Project

From 2002-2008, I worked in a public library as a shelver and enjoyed the people, the environment, and my job. A library is a favorite place of mine because I love books, magazines, computers, research, and being alone in a quiet space. It is usually a peaceful and calming environment. When I heard there was a program called The Sketchbook Project at the Brooklyn Art Library on Facebook, I was curious about how the project worked out. For the project, you basically go online to their website- www.brooklynartlibrary.org, buy some sketchbooks (5 books in a set), put your own together, register it, and send it back completed. It will go on the bookmobile and afterwards into the library. I wanted to be a part of it because I love libraries and art- it was the perfect project for an artist and library lover. I received the 5 sketchbooks in the mail and it took me a month to finish it. I wanted to include my son Wesly in the project as one of the participants in our family. While I was putting it together, I needed a few extra items- fiskars scissors, stickers, Elmer's glue, copied images, and a computer/printer for the words on each page.

For my sketchbook, I came up with 16 different ideas for each blank page and I drew various types of ordinary items to not so ordinary items. I created a smart bird character, as seen on the cover page, to be seen on each page with the title of each sketch drawing. The titles of the sketch drawings were: A Night Out on the Town, Sky Gaze, Flowered Air Balloon, Skaters 4ever, a Kitchen still life, Tetras Turnover, A Day in New York City, Jammin with My Cats, Vacation Knight, Martini Man, ARMY Adventures, Twisted Farm, Feeding the Zoo Animals, and three others I did not mention in this list. The sketchbook has the smart bird as the narrator and he was introducing each sketch drawing with his chalk board. He may not say much on the chalk board, but he gives an introduction into each page.

As I was setting up the layout of the sketchbook, I also had to use scissors and glue in order to cut/paste the items. For the cover page and 16 other pages, I had to cut out the shape of the smart bird with scissors and paste him with Elmer's glue. The chalk board space, in the middle of the smart bird, is also cut out and pasted to it. The words are typed, cut out with scissors, and glued onto the the blank space. The entire "In and Out of the Ordinary" sketchbook has many pages involving cut and paste in order for it to be put together.

After I finishing my "In and Out of the Ordinary" sketchbook, I registered it in the library catalog and mailed it out to Brooklyn, New York. My sketchbook will be going out on the book mobile after August of 2021 and will be placed into the library shelves in November of 2021. I believe drawing and sketching is very important when you are an artist. While I was doing this sketchbook , I felt very calm and relaxed because you could go with all of your own ideas. If you would like to have a sketchbook in The Brooklyn Art Library, go to their website www.brooklynartlibrary.org and send out for some sketchbooks. You could have some family or friends join in the fun activity. The library welcomes everyone around the world. The Sketchbook Project is a global project and I would like to encourage you to give it a chance to show your sketching ability. It would be a great opportunity for anyone.