Sketchbook Project Tour 2015

In San Francisco, with Seattle, Chicago, Oakville and Toronto to go!

The Sketchbook Project is touring the U.S. and Canada now ~ and they say it's the final tour. So sad! After this, all the sketchbooks will stay permanently in the Brooklyn Art Library apart from a few small excursions in the local Brooklyn neighborhood.

This past weekend, the mobile library came to the Bay Area, so I dashed up to The Yard at Mission Rock to reunite one more time with my 2014 book, 23 Haiku, and to check out some new books too. I decided to send 23 Haiku on tour again, in honor of my dad. We are coming up on the second anniversary of his passing, so revisiting our artistic 'collaboration' left me thoughtful but happy.

I really like the sketchbooks that have art on the covers. About half of the ones I received were elaborately designed and the other half just had blank cardboard covers. I was surprised! I think the cover tells a lot about what might be awaiting in the interior pages and pulls the reader in, making them want to open the book.

This one by Anita Stewart was interesting because she also attached a fine net onto the cover and then (probably) applied modpodge or other glue so that it became firmly a part of the cardboard and art.

Another cool cover on a sketchbook titled Astronaut. This one is by Jeannine Ortiz, who digitized her book so you can see the entire sketchbook here. The story inside was very much like the cover, with ink, Sharpie, bold lines and fluorescent colors.

Inside cover was nice, too!

Loved this book by Marta Selusi, Winter Dreams, about two friends who live in different dimensions who can only meet briefly each winter. The stitching of felt and paper on the cover added a softness and texture to the book, and the story inside was beautifully done.

I don't think she digitized her book, so I really want to share some of her interior illustrations.

Some elements of the story reminded me of my first sketchbook, Lights in the Distance, but Marta's drawings and the flow of her book are more sophisticated than mine. Still, the story of another world, friends crossing and connecting between them, a little animal companion... there were some similarities.

Another book with a comic strip theme was this one by Danny Ryba. The Penguin Bros. was funny and cute, but I had camera issues ~ mainly fighting the strong breeze that began to blow all the pages ~ and I didn't get a clear shot of his artwork. He does have some other sketchbooks digitized, however, such as this one here.  I liked his explanation of the origins of the Penguin Brothers.

Susan da Sie is an artist from Montreal and she made some beautiful pencil drawings. See her full book here.

And finally, we looked at this book, which I enjoyed for its spicy peanut sauce recipe and the stream-of-consciousness musings about the environment.

Only problem is that I could not find the artist's name in my notes, which is very disappointing. If anyone recognizes this book, please let me know ~ thank you! That will conclude our tour today...

#superbOwl

The Super Bowl is on. But as I mentioned a few years ago, I kind of prefer Superb Owl.

SF MOMA has been tweeting #superbowl images of superb owl artworks in their collection, so I thought I'd add the questioning owls from my recent Sketchbook Project to the celebration of the day.

This was one of my dad's haiku poems that made me smile. I hope you'll check the sketchbook out if you're ever at the Art House Library in Brooklyn since this isn't the greatest photo and the owls actually have a bit more color and detail. (You might find them to be more superb).

The game goes on, and here I'll give a little cheer for the underdogs in this game ~ Go Broncos! :)

Sketchbook Project 2014

Just in time, I completed my book for the Sketchbook Project 2014 and mailed it off. Alas, in my rush  to the post office to make the deadline there was no time to scan all my pages properly. I had to make do with some quick iPhone shots and I've finally posted them on flickr. 

This year I chose the theme, "This is not about me." On one of the first pages, I wrote this little explanation of the book's contents:

This is not about me.
This book is in remembrance of my father, A.W.S., who passed away in the last days of summer, 2013. We were lucky to enjoy one very intense, stressful, hopeful and sad year together ~ my dad, my sister and me united in the fight to extend his time with us. We all became closer than ever before, and one surprise he revealed shortly before he left was that he wrote haiku poetry. To me, they reflect his childhood in the Midwest and his time as a young man in Japan. I decided to preserve them here.

I selected 23 of his poems and arranged them by type: winter, life & love, summer and autumn. I'm very happy that some of my father's poems will be shared and preserved this way. We never collaborated on anything artistic while he was alive, but I think he would be happy with this little book with my drawings and his poems living together.

My book will be going on the California tour. I look forward to seeing it again this summer!

hello again

I've finally emerged from a winter hibernation and with the new year already in full swing, I'm ready for a fresh start. But first, I must catch up with the many enjoyable tasks that fell by the wayside while I was reeling from the dismaying clobbering that 2012 gave me. I can only hope those who have been waiting for these projects will forgive my delays; meanwhile, I intend to take the remaining ones up, one by one, until I'm all caught up and ready for entirely new things this (hopefully more gentle) year.

So, an embarrassing number of months later, I'm mailing off the little accordion art book collaboration started by Valeria Poropat in Rome. After the book traveled around Europe, the U.S. and Canada, Jeannine Saylor sent it to me last summer for me to add my page, which I did... eventually. 

I was inspired by a quietly alert deer that I met near Pismo Beach in the woods behind our house. I first noticed the very fresh deer droppings I'd nearly stepped in, then looked up to see huge, soft brown eyes staring at me. It was early in the morning and no one else was awake, just the two of us under the oaks on a quiet hillside. The moment stayed with me, so I added it to this thoughtful collection. Here you can see the work contributed by the other artists:

Valeria Poropat, Tatjana Odovic, Jules Young, Anika Starmer

Lisa Grabenstetter, Jessica Gowling, Jeannine Saylor, Kimi Kobashi

I'm sending the book on to the poetic Thuraya Lynn in Kuwait, who I imagine will add some mysterious black-and-white drawings of sly characters making mischief in their own worlds... we shall see if my guess is close or not!

In the meantime, I wish you all much peace, satisfaction and creativity this bright new year...

xo kimi

art & friends ~ {tuscany}

from Miwako

This evening we went to San Francisco to have dinner with new friends from Siena, Vito and Dina. They are artists of a different medium ~ architectural gardening! If you desire an authentic Tuscan garden design, I would happily recommend this notably kind and enthusiastic couple, landscape architects and founders of Citera Studio. Dina also keeps a cooking tumblr where she shares authentic recipes passed down through her family. It's in Italian, but I find it quite soothing to watch one of her videos of how to make bread... I only wish I could eat some at the end!

They were sweet enough to courier a drawing to me, sent by our mutual friend Miwako. When I saw her illustration, I wanted to hop on a plane to Italy right away to stay with her in this beautiful old building. It was once a convent that has since been transformed into numerous apartments. I can already envision our little ones running around together in the grass or playing tag around the tree in her drawing. If I could go quickly, there would still be a blue sky and warm sun. September is the most beautiful month in Italy.

I've shared a small watercolor of Miwako's on this blog before. She has a delicate touch and refined aesthetic. I know she sent me this drawing because she wants me to move to Siena and keep her company... and it's very tempting! The power of her sketch is quite strong; she knows exactly what I love there. Maybe I can't move there right now but I surely want to plan a visit and spend as many idyllic days together as possible in the beautiful countryside. One day... arrivero'!

what he did

his silent action

This story touched my heart, too. Thank you @s_hayatsuki for sharing it and thank you Aya Watanabe  @vida_es_bella for the translation.

a little boy was standing in line

I'm really touched by the generosity and altruism characteristic of so many of the stories I read coming from Japanese twitter posts. In the face of horrendous crisis, individuals (even children) are not just thinking of their own well-being. I keep reading story after story of strangers helping each other and people staying calm even when stretched to the limit.

This tweet (above) from @makiwi was the first one that I decided to illustrate. There are so many beautiful sentiments being expressed on twitter alone that I will have a lot of drawings to do if I want to acknowledge each one that moves me. But I will do my best.

Thank you, Japan, for showing us how to be civil and noble under pressure.