The first project of the year will be a swap! The Sketchbook Project sets up these mini-projects to sign up for during the year outside of their self-titled, main project. The one I signed up for is called ‘The Ampersand Project‘:
Being that “&” means “and,” we feel like it’s the perfect character to symbolize an exchange that connects you and another person. Make a simple image that interprets this unique piece of our letter-set and we’ll send you the work of another participant in exchange.
They provide you with a board to use that is 5×7. Everyone in the project gets the same board to keep it consistent (and probably so someone doesn’t mail in a 7 foot sculpture although that would be cool). I started laying down some of the paper foundation tonight. I am going to use telephone book (remember those?!) paper as the foundation for the ampersand, building up the layers and then cutting out the shape of the ampersand so that you can see a scene behind it. I knew the paper from phone books was thin but it’s really thin – this may take quite a few layers to build up some thickness but I think it will be better as it will dry/harden more uniformly.
My initial thoughts are to build up the layers, then cut the ampersand out (very carefully). I will paint a scene on the board and when you lay the cut out ampersand on the board, you will be able to see the scene behind it. Another possibility is to have the ampersand paper be cut in half and somehow hinge open to completely reveal the scene which has formed in my mind as a beach with a shipwreck in the distance.
After the base layers are built up the top layer would be of green foliage so it would look like you were looking through shrubbery onto the scene. Some issues I can think of immediately are the hinging aspect and the toggle to open close. Could be too fragile but I really like the idea.
Very quick sketch (those are palm trees with coconuts in the background!). This layer would probably be painted onto the board.
We will know how it all turns out by early February as I have to postmark it by Feb 15th!
What are you working on this month?
What a cool project. It’s always fun to swap & collaborate.