Wide-reaching arm of art

"It's really cool – we will all be sitting together on a shelf in New York. That's pretty great."

Sandra Douglas, artist

Palmerston North artists are adding their voices to a conversation being held between thousands of creatives in Brooklyn, New York.

The Sketchbook Project is an international venture where collections of sketches are collated in the Brooklyn Art Library. The library has amassed 36,384 artists’ books from 135 countries and is open to the public. The sketchbooks can also be viewed online.

Sandra Douglas is the Palmerston North artist who first thought of getting a group of Manawatu¯ locals together and, with the help of Rob Haakman, 12 women artists are taking part.

‘‘It’s really cool – we will all be sitting together on a shelf in New York. That’s pretty great,’’ Douglas said.

The Manawatu¯ artists’ work will also be on display at an exhibition at Square Edge in Palmerston North.

All of the artists have done their own thing and some were also meeting up to work together.

Artist Robyn Laing is part of the group and will be exhibiting the books in her studio at Square Edge before they are sent to New York.

Laing chose to carry the same theme throughout her sketchbook.

‘‘I was visiting my father-inlaw’s daughter and he loves Japan and he has this whole collection of Japanese tea pots and I thought ‘yes, that’s what I will do’.

‘‘Mine is quite conventional compared to what some of the others have done.’’

Douglas said it was a nice way for her to ‘‘use that part of the brain’’ while she was studying to be an accountant.

❚ The Sketchbook Project exhibition will be held at Robyn Laing’s studio in Palmerston North’s Square Edge Community Arts Centre from April 16.