What’s a Sketchbook Exchange?
It’s exactly what it sounds like: you and a friend take turns filling pages in a shared sketchbook and mailing it back and forth. What goes in it is entirely up to you — drawings, paintings, collage, journal entries, photographs, recipes, lists, questions, bad ideas, good ones. There are no rules. All you need is a notebook and someone you want to make things with.
How to get started
- Get yourself a notebook. Think about what you want to do in it — paint, draw, write, collage — and pick a size that’s easy to carry around and won’t cost a fortune to mail.
- Find a friend, family member, or colleague who’s up for something a little different.
- Fill some pages. Notes, drawings, lists, whatever’s on your mind. Don’t overthink it.
- Tuck it in an envelope and send it off.
- When it comes back to you, take your time with it. Leave comments right on the pages, add post-its, paste in notes — or just sit with it for a while before you respond.
- Fill your pages. Let their work inspire you, or go in a completely different direction.
- Send it back. Keep going.
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