The Sketchbook Project 2012

When I sent my sketchbook off to the Art House Co-op in Brooklyn, New York for the 2011 tour I actually began another book (see here).  Filling the little moleskine sketchbook had become a habitual respite from all the hammering and soldering of the workbench in my atelier and I was reluctant to stop just because I had submitted the project.

Now that I am officially signed up for the 2012 tour and I have my barcoded sketchbook I decided to re-create the pages I have 'rehearsed'.  I've changed a few things, edited and simplified some of the pages but the story remains the same.

The Sketchbook Project 2012, cover, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

I chose the theme 'Transatlantic'.  This one popped out of the list of possible themes - after all, I had just sent my 2011 sketchbook off across the Atlantic to New York!  It seemed to make for a very logical, pre-destined perhaps, decision.

The Sketchbook Project 2012, inside cover and title page, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

The text reads:

At the end of The Sketchbook Project 2011, this postcard was stuck on the last page.....


The Alternative 'Thelma & Louise' Ending.


Cedric as a proud film aficionado, was more that a little afraid.  His eyes opened even wider as a mixture of surprise and shock washed over him.  However, he visibly relaxed in the girl's arms as she whispered, "I just meant, maybe we should just keep going."

The Sketchbook Project 2011, page 4, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

And so one day they did just that; they kept going.  They left just as the wintered fingers of the trees had begun to be covered in a pointillist array of rose and green. 


"It's time to go on an adventure" the girl declared as she carefully dragged her Grandfather's suitcase out from under the bed.

The Sketchbook Project 2012, pages 5 and 6, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

This time she took 
1. A jar of pebbles 
2. A sketchbook 
3. A moose 
4. A rubber band ball
5. A box of buttons 
&
6. A wooden spinning top

The Sketchbook Project 2012, pages 7 and 8, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

She deliberated over which coloured pencils to take.  What colour would the buildings be, the sky, the roofs, the shadows, the leaves on the trees?  She could not decide because she did not know.  So she took them all.


Cedric was not best pleased with the inclusion of the Moose.  He found the tilt of his head a little idiosyncratic and his ease of mobility was frankly annoying.  However, his discomfort eased when he realised that the Moose would be traveling in the hold.

The Sketchbook Project 2012, page 9, Cari-Jane Hakes, November 2011

And there we shall leave her for the time being.  Gazing out of the aeroplane window at the beginning of her transatlantic adventure!