I drove to Rochester yesterday, which is about 2.5 hours south east of Henderson. I drove along the lake because it is way prettier than doing I-81 (the equivalent of I-5 in Washington/Oregon). What a glorious day for it, too! Sunny and 58F. It felt like spring, and was just what my little brain needed. I went to Monroe Community College to see The Sketchbook Project Mobile Library. My friend, Shawn, turned me onto this organization a few years ago, but until this trip, I really didn't 'get it' as much as I could have. I guess I am one of those people who needs to feel something in her hands to truly understand it. Tactile learning anyone? So, this is a mobile library that travels the U.S., sharing sketchbooks made by people from around the world. They can use any medium, do any theme, make them as simple or complex as they want, and then send them in to be shown in that library. Brooklyn is the home of the entire collection, and the mobile trailer showcases only the books from the past year. I spent over 4 hours pouring over creations from all over the world, by people with zero to tons of art skills, in every medium imaginable. It. Was. Amazing. I walked away with a recharged creative battery, and a sketchbook of my own to do that will travel in next years tour. Of course, I want to make everyone I know do one now, too, but most of those people would be to afraid. They would think they were not good enough. But THAT is the beauty of this project. NO ONE is rejected, and NO ONE is judged, and there is always SOMEONE who will see what you have done and be inspired/touched/encouraged. I laughed. I cried. I even thought 'WTH???' a few times, but just seeing that anyone was willing to put whatever they wanted into these pages was enough to get respect and attention from me. In one book, the pages were filled with the same pattern, drawn in ink, but done in different colors. One was an elaborate art journal in bright colors and collage. One was a huge fold-out on a handmade paper, with seven continuous line drawings of what that person ate every day for seven days. The ideas were endless. I could go on and on. How this sort of thing makes me feel when I can actually touch it is harder to explain. When I went to Switzerland for the first time as a willing adult, I had the same two feelings. Both were unexpected. The first was a feeling of 'coming home'. This knocked me off my feet, since I had never, in any way, entertained the idea that anywhere but the USA could ever be 'home'. I don't know why I had it. I just felt so comfortable there; like I fit, even though I couldn't speak the language. The second was a feeling of awe that I have never gotten from any thing else except nature. That deep feeling of history; of meaning and life and purpose and stories. I really have no better way to explain it. Touching the side of a 1000 year old church, or hearing the church bells ring in a village that had been ringing for hundreds of years, and thinking, 'How many people, just like me, have stood here and heard this exact same sound or felt this exact same spot on this wall?' The sensation created through touch and sound made a deep connection to history that I had never felt in school, and never would have been able to feel because it is simply not taught. I found a connection through the thought of everyday people, doing everyday things in the same world I was now in. I guess what I found was wonder. Anyhow, I felt this again yesterday. I am going to post a few pictures, but they are flat compared to the 3-d experience I had. However, I encourage all of my reader to check out The Sketchbook Project website. They have great ideas everyone can participate in, and it really is a great organization with a great idea of community art. http://www.sketchbookproject.com/ And now for pictures. Just a couple or three.