Eenie, Meenie, Miney, Mo ...

I'm taking part in a show next month called Radius: Sketchbooks From Our Nearby Worlds and I need to decide which of my books to include. There isn't a limit on how many I can send, but I don't think they're really going to want all 38 of them. I've been reminiscing as I page through them, trying to come up with a strategy to cull the herd, so to speak.

Including the sketchbook I started with is a no brainer. I filled a small three ring binder with paper I already had - cheap copy paper, bristol board, watercolor and pastel paper and even pieces of a brown paper bag. I figured if I didn't invest a lot of money, it wouldn't matter if the drawings sucked. I hoped it would relieve the pressure of making ART long enough for me to enjoy drawing again. Seven years and 37 books later, I'd say it worked.

Most of my sketchbooks are the 5.5x8.25 Hand Book Artist Journals. I'll send a few of the other sizes and brands I've tried - Fabriano Venezia Art Book, Canson XL Mix Media Journal and Dylusions Large Creative Journal - to show the variety of materials available.

As for the recent books that got me through my cancer journey - a little bit more of my soul is laid bare in those and I'm not sure how much I want to share. When it comes to this blog, I can pick and choose what I post and I skipped most of the whining, Debbie Downer entries. I'll have to think about those a little longer.

As for the rest, I'll go with the ones Eenie, Meenie, Miney and Mo pick.