Tip Jar Thursdays! No. 14 - A Stitch in Time... • Art House Co-op

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Tip Jar Thursdays! No. 14 - A Stitch in Time…

Happiest of Thursdays to you, dear Sketchers!

A quick update this week on some of the beautiful and impressive books for the Sketchbook Project 2012 which have been landing into our postbox over the past few days. One in particular this week arrived to the Brooklyn Art Library from the Netherlands, and really took my breath away - I simply had to share it with you for this week’s Tip Jar!

Take a sneaky peek at Anita Botman’s “Fill Me With Stories” sketchbook. The Dutch word “Schepping” which appears embroidered on the front translates to English as “grand creation” or “universe”. Anita has removed every page from her sketchbook, with the only original feature remaining being the book cover, which she has covered with a layer of fine calico. This calico then forms the inner pages of the sketchbook, which retain a lovely, gauzy quality.

Flipping carefully through the fabric “pages” of Anita’s book, it immediately brings to mind the delicate work of the late artist and sculptor Louise Bourgeois and her antique handkerchiefs, each one woven with personal and cherished stories. Even holding this book, it feels like it was crafted to be a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation, each layer of fabric stitched with memories of her past and ancestors. “Fill Me With Stories” is a very apt and fitting theme!

The gossamer-fine pages are covered in delicately drawn studies, carefully and thoughtfully interspersed with embroidery, and felted clumps of fibres. Anita also shows us how to keep the barcode intact and uncovered, without taking away from the overall feel of her book. Classy!

We’re thrilled to have Anita’s book here at the Brooklyn Art Library to look after and archive with all of it’s other Sketchbook companions. Hopefully her book will inspire you and give you a bit of ‘Dutch courage’ to try some creative stitching and recovering of your book - the possibilities really are endless. I’m getting more and more excited everyday when the mail-lady arrives with another bounty of books for us to explore - keep ‘em coming!

Much Love,

Fiona.