ABOUT SKETCHPACK: The project began in 2011. The original idea was to get folks to draw daily. The Sketchpack is a small zigzag journal with two usable sides, allowing one to sketch on both sides of 15 ‘pages’ to complete the month of August. There was much enthusiasm and the project is now repeated yearly in August, with a Facebook page for us to share as we go along.  (The page is closed once the sketching begins, so if you would like to do it next year you need to check out the pages in June or July.)  There is an Exhibition held in October filling all four windows of the Artsauce Studio in Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa of mostly locals Sketchpacks!

This week I did several days in one so that the long skinny items
would not be so itty-bitty that they had no definition.

A regulating needle it a very long thick needle with a sharp point
(but not like a sewing needle sharp) and would make a good weapon!

My Sanding Stick is the best invention.
It makes it much easier to remove just one little area for touch-up.

Some are Mitchell’s tools exclusively, and some we share.
I never touch the Sewing Gauge.  I hand sew!

Mitchell is the one who uses the Magic Writing tool:
Chew on it and it magically solves all your problems!

Part of working is taking breaks.  I paint, Mitchell plays his guitar.

I love painting with inks.  LOVE it!

Gads what would the studio be without threads. We have a wall of huge spools that Mitchell uses on the machines, and two bins of tiny spools and treasure trove of very old threads given to us by a nurse whose patient was dying — a very old seamstress. Her old threads have saved the day many times when we needed an older color 100% cotton thread. It is difficult to match the original colors, faded to be what they are today if they are seen.  This is one of the most difficult jobs, matching threads!

I tend to do the hand-sewing; Mitchell uses machines.

We have to use historically compatible threads, and so, rarely use polyester threads.
Silk, Cotton, linen, rayon — this is more typical.

Leather tools, in this case, a hand-held hole punch which couples with a small hammer and you tap-tap-tap the holes.  Simple and effective.  And sinew for lacing,
which, when I use for making leather bags I usually bead over.
We also have this huge hand-held contraption that but getting it on a teeny page would be a chore — and frankly, even Mitchell tend to use the small easy simple tools!
The punch has removable tips.  I could do several pages on leather tools alone!

How much chalk could a chalk chuck chuck if a chalk chuck could chuck chalk?
Another beautiful tool.  Keeps you from putting chalk all over fabrics!

How nice that they made chalk chuck’s colorful!

Drawn on an unknown paper itty-bitty folding journal with (mostly)
the fine point Platinum Carbon pen and Daniel Smith watercolors.

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