what happens when you trade sketchbooks with community?
an international sketchbook tour 10 months in the making
10 months ago, I made a bunch of sketchbook zines with materials from the dollar store, created a little video on how to make them, and then sent a few out to members of the Persistent Bloom Discord Server
The folks who participated — from Canada, France, Indonesia, and the US — got a zine in the mail, drew cool things in it, then they sent it to another member, who drew even more cool things in it. Eventually, most of the zines made their way back to my desk for a tour. Over the course of the journey, some zines got lost in post and recovered, others got nearly totalled by water and rain. We learned so much about the limitations of envelopes and stamps, and a few of us just scanned in our shares.
The results are finally here as I wrapped up the editing on this sketchbook tour video this week:
It has been so rewarding to see the art take shape and have this project become a celebration of the creativity, generosity, and values of the community we’ve built. These folks regularly show up for one another, cheer each other on, and use the power of community to persist in their varied crafts. We all collectively practice AI sobriety, share memes, and check up on each other. It is so cool to see how folks will tap in and out of cycles of their craft, trying entirely new projects, and vulnerably sharing with others along the way.
I’d love for you to watch the tour this weekend, cheer on the community and their art in the comments, and maybe join us over on Discord too!
One last thing, I’m running a sale on my website for all my self-directed classes through the end of June.
If you’ve been meaning to deepen into craft this summer, this is a great way to do that at your own pace. I have a really awesome 2-part class on my collage process and using Procreate ($39), one for beginners on how to paint with gouache and watercolor from photos ($89), AND my creative method pod-class, the Hikers Way to get you out in nature, reclaim your time from big tech, and make things at a pace that works for your body, brain, and lifestyle ($99)!
Purchasing any of these self-directed classes gets you access to the Persistent Bloom Discord, and you get to tap into a special channel for the class to ask questions and share your work with the other students who have taken it before!
That is all for this short dispatch. Have a great weekend and go watch the Sketchbook Zine Tour! Until next time, stay creative and find your own ways to persistently bloom
-Mel
