Sketchbook Project 2012. "Fill Me With Stories".

 I have made my Sketchbook, as a dedication to my grandmother, mormor, -who taught me to fish, not to be afraid of the dark and to, at all times carry my passport on me. Just in case......
The photograph sitting on my desk, shows my grandmother, holding a Pike. I remember that day,47 years ago, in her house in Sweden, and I know she is watching this, smiling.

 It dos´nt look empressive at all! BUT there are actually 30 pages, all joined in two strips, as four individually stories.

 The two stories on the left is for my grandmother. The story of The Pike, my dedication to her and a scene from the sea, saying: My Grandmother Taught  Me To Fish, And Navigate When Lost In The Middle Of Nowhere. The ones on the right, shows all my inspiration to the book, and a story of my life! Showing me age 2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and now 53!! And how I have lived by her rules: Life is an adventure, go get some!

 The Pike. (Thanks Mairi for showing me Ted Huges and his poem.)

 The deep blue Sea.

 The inspiration pages.

My life! 0-53.
I will not post close ups yet......8 whole months untill it needs handed in! Who knows what might happen till then?
Liked doing this, but thats me, deadlines = creative.

Sketch book cover.

Okay. As all of us knows, us as the people doing The Sketchbook Project 2012, the books are s.... no good! I took the cover apart, cut a spine from a milkcarton, glued it all onto cardstock, and then, used my sewing machine to stitch it all together. Im getting there........It works, Im happy!

Tina in Texas.

 My walk today and the photo´s are dedicated to Tina in Texas. She is in big need of some cooler weather and rain! We have it, so Tina, walk with me, up the steps, onto the dike.....

 .....and here is the sea. All the water and waves you need. Not that dramatic today, but cool and damp!

These flowers were picked on the way, with Tina in mind, for her lack of gardening and love of wild flowers. Happy sunday x

Three owl´s sitting in my mail box.....

 I have taken part in Palmas Bird Matchbox swap, and got home today, to find these three owls in my mail. Flew all by them selvs from Karin C´s home in Holland. Amazing!

 So much detail and work has gone into each and every one of them. One paper, one fabric and one metallic owl. Im impressed!

My favorite is the metallic one. Wonderful (and out of focus!!!! I shall re shoot it later....)

Journal backgrounds?

Came home from work, just before the thunderstorm and heavy rain started! And thought, I´ll better shoot my favourite flowers, in case they don´t survive the weather.... took loads, but played around with the images thinking, they could be used for journaling......

I`m all swap-ed out!

 These 4 ATC´s are going to my friend  Mary in the UK.   "Blue Bird of Happiness". The lovely thing about this perticular swap is, that Mary is going to display one of our ATC´s at the hostal that her father is at. I like this thought.

 This ATC is part of a swap, hosted by Beth G. in USA. "In honour of our Mothers". Yes it is, my mother 1963.

 This is a first for me : ATC/Twinchie swap. Hosted by Lauren S. of the "Watermelon Workshop", Florida. I liked doing these, "Watermelon". Again some are going on display in her workshop.

 And then this month Journal page swap. "It´s been a slice". Glad Nina C. explained,  = It´s been fun!.....and "I want to lose myself in your songs".

After coming back from my holiday, I realised that I had quit a few Swaps to do. I spend yesterday and today finishing them all, so now I have a nice pile to take to the post office to morrow.

I`m back!

 The door to my room. One whole week, painting in a mountain retreat, Milia, on Crete. Honey for the soul - lovely people, wonderful organic food and wine, and hundreds of painting motives to get stuck into.

This is looking down onto the village, from the mountain opposite. Amazing.

Sunset and flash light!

Amazing! This is just the setting sun, coming through the window, hitting the painting. Shame that my camera works so bad with the flash on! But I still like it :-) I know this can be produced with new iphone aps and what have you, but this is just as it was, and shoot with my small digital canon.

One for one Art swap.

I received this beautiful drawing from Nina in Canada, as she did a One for One Art Swap. Thank you so much Nina.

Something Fishy....

Today I received three ATC´s, in the Something Fishy..which Mary hosted in April. These lovely ATC´s came swimming along from The States, Nederland and Poland. After a detour to Bristol U.K.!!!

Brainstorm.....

My head is sore....it´s like back at art collage, when projects had to be handed in, deadlines, hundreds of ideas bursting to be picked, tried out, dismissed, ..... and the final choice you take and go with. Yes, it´s all coming back! This Sketch book 2012 Challange, is of course nothing like that,- but the brain automaticly goes into brainstorming moad....Right now I´m working along an idea, coming from a photo of my grandmother, holding a Pike, that she and I cought in the lake at her summer house in Sweden, when I was 8? And I might stick to the fish theme......?

Duetræ (Davidia Involucrata)

                        
What an amazing tree! "Duetræ". Translates : Pigion tree! (China) I do not have this in my wind blown sea garden...but my mother picked one of the flowers in a castle garden, and dried it. Beautiful, it will now find its place onto a journal page.....

The Sketchbook Project 2012

I am participating in The Sketchbook Project 2012. I choose the title : Fill Me With Stories. All of the thousands of journals, from all over the world, will go out on a world trip...and end up as a permanent collection at the Brooklyn Art Library, USA. How fun is that? My good friend Mary, did the 2011 journal,(and this year) and like she said: "Its the participation that matters". Just knowing you are in there somewhere, as you are like a needle in a haystack, I thought., is fun. Now, time to get inspired and be creative.

More flowers...

My mother is an awsome quilter. This flower is one of 16, her latest project.  It could be a stamp, an ATC motive, well think it looks like part of a journal page.