Sketchbook Adventures

I did something today that I have wanted to do for quite some time.  I even took a vacation day from work to do it!  I went to visit what is behind these blue bars.

Yippee - the Sketchbook Project traveling library came to Kentucky!  I drove to Louisville, picked up Gaye, and we braved heat and humidity to seek out the traveling library.  When we got to the Mellwood Arts Center, they were just setting up, so we went off in search of something to eat and wandered around the studios and shops in the massive building (a former packing plant).

Then it rained.  And rained some more.  Gusty winds and more rain.  When it began to calm down some, we  sat outside in an open area, and watched giant fish on a metal mobile as the fish swayed in the wind and soaked up the rain.  We kept an eye out to see if the Library windows would open again and if they again set up their tent and reading benches.

 

When the rain let up enough, they re-opened and a handfull of eager patrons gathered 'round to enjoy the sketchbooks.  I have never seen such an efficient, well-run outfit.  We used their laptop at one window to input our information to get a library card. Then we went to another laptop at another window, scanned the new card, and used a menu to select sketchbooks by title, subject, etc.  Once you submitted the type of sketchbook you wanted to look at, a signal was sent to their iPhone, they pulled one sketchbook off the shelf that you had chosen, and a second random one.  Once you enjoyed those, you turned them in, scanned your card again and picked more.  You could do this as many times as you wanted.  I picked subjects such as textile, architecture, cartography, etc.  The artists of these were from the U.S., Germany, and the Netherlands. I could have spent all day and night and probably not have seen all the books.  It was so much fun.  I never expected this library to come to a location near me, and I really enjoyed their visit.  I hope the storms did not keep others away and that they had many visitors to make their trip worthwhile.

And of course, I contributed to their cash register by purchasing a sketchbook with lots of ideas in it, a pencil and eraser...

and some pins to commemorate the tour.  I also grabbed a tour map and some stickers.

In spite of the storms, it was well worth the trip, and I may post a few other pictures of studios in the arts center.  Well done, Sketchbook Project.  Well done!!  Please come again!