Earlier this year I heard about the Sketchbook Project, created by art house co-op, and signed up for it after a brief argument with myself.
Me: But I don’t draw that often, how can I fill a whole sketchbook?
Artist Me: It’s a good way to get to draw more often! How many markers, pens and coloured pencils do you buy per year and never use?
Me: But I have too many projects already! What about National Novel Writing Month, which I’d have to do at the same time as the sketching? And how about the e-course I’m signed up for, The Declaration of You? Not to mention all my quilting projects! I need time to do all that!
Artist Me: Come on, you know your best times are spent doing artistic stuff. Do it do it do it do it.
Me: But what if my drawings are ugly?
Artist Me: No one will see them anyway. Oh wait, scratch that, your sketchbook will be on tour with everyone else’s sketchbooks and people will be able to request it and read it as it travels through lots of cities in America. FAME! Come on!
Me: OK!
And so I signed up and got the beautiful Moleskine notebook in the mail in July: 80 creamy-white pages just waiting to be filled. And I didn’t draw anything until the 18th of October.
But now that I’ve started, I LOVE it. It makes me think in a completely different way. And now I’m thinking of taking an illustration course and exploring it even further.
I’ll be posting lots of my Sketchbook Project drawings on my Flickr page.
Tribal Leaves
Scandinavian Modern Riff
Lucienne Day Riff
smaboutique.wordpress.com 
I love your drawings! It’s so cool that this process is inspiring you!
I know the feeling – good for you for signing up! I’ve debated the sketchbook project for a while myself! When in the world would I do it??? I love your sketches, and it inspires me to take another look at the project! (when I”m finished my own painting project first!) I adore researching and starting projects, but I’m poor at finishing!
Your work is wonderful! Go you for taking the plunge 🙂 I’m off to check out the Sketchbook project. I’ve heard about it, but haven’t investigated. I think this could be right up my alley. Thanks for sharing!