The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sketchbook

On April 14, 2016 Anne Lawson, a botanical artist who lives in Melbourne, posted this on her blog: ‘Oh I do love a good idea, and this is one of the best! A travelling sketchbook!’

So she made a sketchbook, drew her own contribution in it, and posted it to the first person on the list of those who’d signed up for the project.
There are 15 of us, and each is to ‘add to the sketchbook when it comes in the post to you. Draw, write, collage, sew, paste in a photograph ~ whatever you would like to contribute. There would be no rules, no themes, just a heartfelt contribution.’
(You can read the whole post here)

I was number 9 on the list. Imagine my excitement when I received a package from Indiana, USA, and opened it to see this:

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Anne had drawn on the cover, and inside the back cover,

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and her contribution was a delicate drawing of the Kakadu Escarpment in Melbourne.

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Next was Kate Chiconi from Baker’s Creek, QLD. (See her blog here) Kate makes the most amazing quilts, so this is what she came up with:

 

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After Kate, Sandra Gay from Ténériffe, QLD (blog here), added an illustrated recipe for ratatouille!

 

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In number 4, we have the stunning drawings of Megan Power from Caulfield, VIC (blog here) – she made a map of the cycling trails in the city, leading to the National Gallery of Victoria,

 

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as well as a beautiful drawing inspired by a painting  by Jules-Bastien Lepage, which is exhibited in the gallery.

 

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Then a poem, by Sandi Worrall-Hart, of Wnadin East, VIC.

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Next, the Sketchbook travelled from Australia to the US, where Alys Milner from SAN Jose, California, (blog here) made an imaginative collage ‘quilt’ from all the previous contributions!

 

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Followed by two more stunning mini quilts by Sue Brown of Mount Vernon, WA (blog here).

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Then, just before me, Usha Gudipalli from Indianapolis (blog here) added another, very colorful,  collage. Again a quilt theme, which I assume has been so popular as it symbolises unity and friendship.

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Now the Sketchbook has travelled to Europe – first stop, Athens, Greece! When I’m done I will send it on to Germany, since there are five more memers of the Sisterhood, two in Germany, one in France, and two in the U.K. Finally, it will go to one more contributor in Australia, then at last back to Anne – we are thinking of maybe scanning it, so each of us has a memento of her own.

I have already thought about my own contribution, of course, but my lips are sealed for the moment, so stay tuned!
(To be continued)

40 thoughts on “The Sisterhood of the Travelling Sketchbook”

    1. Once you get it, you won’t feel intimidated at all – it’s so obvious everyone poured their heart in what they did, with no thought of showing off or competing. It’s marvelous and will get your creative juices flowing😊💕💕

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  9. Eek! It’s actually arrived on this continent! I must give it some serious thought in the New Year. I might stick with my original idea as nobody else, so far, has done it. I need to practise though. I can’t wait to see what you do – as more lovely entries are added, it gets more and more daunting for the ones that come after.

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  17. Brilliant idea, and I love the way each subsequent contribution seems to put stronger and stronger colours. All are a delight, but I wish I could feel the mini-quilts 🙂 By the way, if you visit my latest post, you’ll see I’ve nominated you as a Versatile Blogger …

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  20. Oh my! It is wonderful to see the Sketchbook in all its glory! 💖 Thank you so much for showing me its progress.
    I hope your Christmas is relaxing, with people you love, and that 2017 is a happy, creative one.

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