Ringling Traveling Sketchbook

Entry Seven: Nilah Magruder

2007-08-10T13:30:00.001-04:00

About Nilah:
"Arrrggghhh, I'm really horrible at bios. Okay here goes.
I'm a Maryland resident born and raised. My hometown is Pasadena... we get mail from California occasionally, which never ceases to be amusing.

When I was little I had a horrendously active imagination, and I loved cartoons. If it wasn't animated, I wasn't interested. But at the root of that passion, I think I simply loved a good story. Nowadays anything related to storytelling excites me: I love movies, I read, I write, I roleplay, I dabble in comics now and then... but I've always, always wanted to make cartoons.

I'm also really into animals... my drawings often feature a child (usually a girl) with some really huge creature, such as in my TSB page. I'm no good at coming up with collage-type things, I prefer to do scenes. There's an ice cream cone in the big guy's mouth, I know it's hard to tell. :p"

Entry Six: Josh Garlick (TSB1!!)

2007-07-23T17:23:00.000-04:00

About Josh:

"As you can see from the supplied depiction of my early performance art, I've always been a very messy artist. So the most exciting part of being finished with my TSB entry is that I didn't completely ruin the whole project, 'cause, well, I am naturally inclined to do that sort of thing.

Ok now about my sketch...ummm...I don't really know what to say about it. Well, for the most part, I usually draw, erm, yeh....nudes. So I'm working now on trying to pull out some ideas from my imagination that don't involve drawing exactly what's infront of me. That's all I want to say, I don't like talking about my art, because then I have to pretent that I actually know what I'm doing....though it's funny, although I consider myself a happy person, my 'smiley faces' are consistently depressed. :(

I cannot wait to see you all, less then a month! Wow...less then a month."

Entry Five: Robert Showalter

2007-07-16T16:57:00.000-04:00

About Robert:
"I was born in Texas and moved to Michigan when I was about 5 years old. I was a pretty socially awkward kid, and rarely talked to even my own family. I found writing and drawing was an effective way for me to express myself.

I'm not a very confident sketcher, my TSB drawing was just an idea I had floating around for awhile. I thought I'd take this opportunity to see how it translated to a pencil shaded drawing.

I'd always loved cartoons, but I was extremely fascinated with claymation and the emerging 3d animation I saw in shows like Reboot and of course, movies like Toy Story. In high school I got a taste of 3d by taking every available CAD class. I'd never experienced so much success or satisfaction than I did working with 3d software. It took me awhile to realize I really needed to pursue a thorough education despite the costs. So after 3 years of community college (and learning 3d Studio Max in my spare time) I felt I was more than ready for the next big step- Ringling. Only a month left, I can't wait to get started with you guys."

Entry Four: Amalia Samaraweera

2007-06-30T23:27:00.000-04:00

Front:
Back:
Details:

TSB#2

2007-06-26T00:37:00.001-04:00

Long time no update!
Unfortunately, the original sketchbook is missing in action. It got lost in transit from Jack E to Amalia S. Here's TSB #2 to continue the rotation. With just a month left we'll probably only get through 5-6 more people. Anyone who doesn't get the chance to receive the TSB can do their page on campus.

It's such a bummer that we lost the art already created but that's the risk involved with a traveling sketchbook. We would like remind everybody to please please take care of the TSB and respect other participants. Remember that it's only three days per person and make sure it's the right address that you are mailing it off to.

Anyway, here's TSB#2 (kinda weird but it'll do 8 1/2" X 11"):"Oh wait, do I smell coffee?" That's right, you sure did! The cover is a collage of rice paper and Ringling posters stained with coffee. I (Yezi), apologize in advance to anybody who dislikes coffee.

About Yezi Xue

2007-05-31T21:36:00.000-04:00

An 'about me' page, it seemed like a good idea until I had to do one myself. Well I'm Chinese and am currently living in Minnesota. I've known I wanted to do animation since I was very young but went to school for computer science instead (good old "can't make money with art" argument). But after a year of slow death by coding I decided to pursue my passion instead and got a BA in art from the University of MN. This year I was fortunately enough to be accepted by CalArts, Ringling, and USC so here we are today!

For my page I knew I wanted a lot of color. I experimented with ink and the page is what turned out.

I'm looking forward to meeting everyone in the fall. Go TSB!

ps: Vani did not add a picture of herself in the inside cover so I took the liberty of drawing her a portrait. After countless light and color studies and careful observation of Vani's facebook picture, this is my rendition:
How the inside cover looks right now:

Entry Three: Yezi Xue

2007-05-31T01:28:00.000-04:00

Front Page:

Back:
Detail:

Featured Artist: Vani MacIsaac

2007-05-29T15:40:00.000-04:00

"i'm 18. from Charlottesville, Virginia. Vegetarian from birth. I just graduated from a quaker school called Tandem Friends. I like live music, driving at night, good parties, bad dancing, trying new stuff, movies. I'm going to Ringling becuase I love the beach, I hate the cold, and I like the work that comes out of the illustration department, and the idea there is a possibility i could be recruited straight out of college. I like black pen because it's simple but really versitile."

Entry Two: Vani Maclsaac

2007-05-26T00:25:00.001-04:00

Front Page:
Back page:

Nevermind Rotation2

2007-05-26T00:21:00.000-04:00

After some discussion the admins decided that having more than one book traveling around defeats the purpose of having a traveling sketchbook and it would make things confusing for the participants.

SO.....I lied!

But this makes keeping up schedule more important. So guys PLEASE PLEASE send out the book within 3 days of receiving it. Otherwise other people may not get a chance to have it.

Adding Rotation 2!

2007-05-21T14:55:00.001-04:00

Due to continuous demand of new people wanting to be added to the current mailing list, Jen and I decided to start second rotation (another sketchbook) that runs simultaneously with rotation one. The difference will be that the second rotation will be sent from the last person on the mailing list to the first (opposite of rotation 1). It may not follow the list exactly as its mailing list will be adjusted to anyone new wanting to receive a sketchbook.

So to put it clearly, some of you may get two chances to doodle in a TSB and anyone new wanting to join still can.

I will put together the second book and send it out in a few days.

ps: Vani has gotten TSB 1

About Jen:

2007-05-16T22:22:00.000-04:00

"A little snippet about Jen: I am still a high school student, on the brink of entering the hard life of college. I am from Illinois, living mostly in the suburbs surrounding Chicago. Living with my family, I've realized that I have much to appreciate and that, although I may not see it, they are a part of my inspiration and motivation to delve deeper into the world of art.

The page that I designed is made with pencil, watercolor, watercolor pencils, and your average ordinary colored pencils. At first, I knew one thing for sure when ready to put lead to paper. I wanted to rip the seams holding together a pictured world, unleashing so many things created by humanity and its existence. Now that's an explanation I'd like to say, but the reality is that I wanted something in the middle and also something that would welcome all of the participants of the TBS to feel excited and energetic to start their own page in the book. On the back of my page, now that's just something reflecting my mood at the moment.

I hope that everyone enjoys this experience and puts their all into their work while still having a blast with it. Use your imaginations and creativity. Although looking is a fundamental, thinking is also part of the process to growth.

Aside from that, I really wish I had a red panda. Save the red pandas! Anyone else want to go find one and make it a home in the dorms? C'mon, you know you want to!"

Jen :P

Entry One: Jennifer Hong

2007-05-16T21:39:00.000-04:00

Front Page:Back page:

Picture:

TSB Info Update:

2007-05-14T23:42:00.000-04:00

ROTATION 1 STATS:

Current total participants: 22
Estimated rotation duration: 13 weeks (May 13-Aug 13th, From now until one week before school starts, figured people need time to pack)
Total blank pages: 192
Current location: Illinois
Current Artist: Jennifer Hong
Total number of targeted states: 10
Total number of targeted countries: 2

(geez, I make us sound like terrorists)

Reminders:

You have 2-3 days to draw and 2-3 days for the book to reach the next person. Which means you have to MAIL OUT THE TSB AFTER THREE DAYS OF RECEIVING IT
Please mail the TSB so it takes 2-3 days or faster to reach the next person

Your Blogs and Sites

2007-05-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, if you are participating and you want the TSB blog to link to your online journal or site, please e-mail me at yetizoo@gmail.com

or comment here.

Thanks.

And Now Ladies and Gentlemen....

2007-05-14T22:06:00.000-04:00

I present to you The Ringling Traveling Sketchbook created by the class of 2011:

Current Location: Illinois
Current Artist: Jennifer Hong

Featured Artist

2007-05-08T23:49:00.000-04:00

Featured Artist:

When an artist’s sketch pages are featured on this blog, an entry featuring the artist’s profile, background, and whatever they like to say will also be posted. So when it comes time for your work to be shown, please e-mail Yezi with a little “about me” page. You can say whatever you’d like.

Traveling Sketchbook Guidelines

2007-05-08T23:44:00.000-04:00

TSB Steps:
Technically the list of things you need to follow in order to ensure that this project succeeds!
That also means you must read these before doing ANYTHING ELSE that relates to the TSB.

Upon receiving the sketchbook, make sure that there is no damage to it and that the person before you has sent you everything (items included will be mentioned later) and has marked off their name on the address list with a star.

Each person gets roughly 5-6 days with the TSB (which includes drawing time & time spend in postage). So technically a person can only draw in the TSB for 2-3 days. If you don’t mail off the TSB after three days, some people on the list may not get the opportunity to add their work so please be considerate of others.

You can use any sort of medium except oil, 3d media, and anything else that would either not fit or damage the TSB. You can use watercolors and acrylic, but please be careful. Don’t use so much water and put a piece of paper or cardboard underneath to prevent ruining the next page. Also make sure that your picture is dry before turning the page or closing it. If you are going to use pastels, charcoal or thick graphite, coat it with a varnish or something to prevent it from smudging other pages and people’s drawings. Markers are allowed, but still take precautions because many markers bleed through.

Because of the book having 192 pages (yay pages!), each person will be able to have a whole page to themselves (front and back). For all of the empty pages left over, go to the last part of the rules to see what to do with them.

Don’t forget to put your signature on your page, preferably on the front of it so people know whose amazing artwork is being displayed.

Also take note that you have to scan your images before sending them to the next person. If you don’t put a varnish or other smudge-free substance on your picture before scanning, then do so afterwards if it is necessary. You can scan using a scanner or, even better, a digital camera. Crop and resize your best scan to an appropriate size and send it away to Yezi Xue (via internet, preferably a .JPEG file) so she can post it on our active Travelling Sketch Book blog.

Mark your own name off of the address list with a star next to it so we know you’re all good to go.

When you do send the sketchbook to the next person, use priority mailing. Also, make sure that the book is safe and secure, wrapping it in an envelope with bubble wrap, a box, tissue paper, etc. Just use anything to make sure that it won’t get torn up in the mail.

And you’re done! Hooray, you can relax now and be happy that the TSB is traveling once again.

Included in the package being sent to you is:

Hardcover, no spiral, bound, 11”x14” sketchbook
Address List
List of Rules (this thing you’re reading right now)
A sheet of Tracing paper and a couple of sheets of computer paper (to use to prevent bleeding or seeping into other pages if necessary)

ALSO! The Empty Page....
You may have noticed that the front cover’s face is a little white. There’s a reason. I’d like for all artists receiving the sketchbook to add their own little contribution to the cover of the Travelling Sketchbook. You can draw whatever you like using whatever appropriate medium. Although this is for free reign, do realize that there are others receiving the book meaning don’t hog the whole cover. Okay? Otherwise, have a blast!

Not only that, but the inside front cover is also a tad blank. Actually it’s a lot more blank than the front cover. There, I’d like for everyone to add a little picture of themselves, one real picture and a drawn representation by it. Once you do that, print your name on the top of the picture and sign your name on the bottom of it. Then draw an arrow (of sorts. Be creative) to the side, pointing to where the next person should place their picture. If you’re at the end of the page, you might want to put an arrow down, and the next row of people may want to put their arrow to the left instead of the right for the next row. But that’s so orderly. If you want to put an arrow facing NW or SE. Whichever :D just make sure there’s room for everybody.

As for the extra pages, we can leave those for a second rotation or more rotations. 192 pages is a lot and there are only about 20 people on our list at the moment. If there aren’t many more coming in, we can keep drawing in the TSB for the rest of our years at Ringling. Just a thought though.

That’s about all for the rules. The three most important things are to be considerate, be creative, and have fun. Remember that you have 5 days to put your thumbprint on this book and that others also need the time for it. Don’t hog the book or forget about it in the closet or something. Don’t forget, in consideration of other artists when doing the front cover and inside cover, to leave space. Also, I don’t want to see or hear of tattered, ripped, or creased pages or a torn cover or anything dealing with damage to the book. Treat it like it’s your newborn baby delivered from the stork. It’s PRECIOUS.

Aside from that, be creative and just have fun with it. Go go!

Featured Artist:

About this Blog

2007-05-08T23:40:00.000-04:00

This blog showcases the artwork of anyone affiliated with Ringling College of Art and Design. It also follows the whereabouts and contents of the traveling sketchbook created by members of the class of 2011.

Here you have the options to:

Request to have the Traveling Sketchbook mailed to you.

Contact Yezi Xue or Jennifer Hong to add yourself to the mailing list. When your address is added to the list, you assume the responsibility to document the work of the artist before you, take care of the sketchbook while it is in your possession, and mail off the sketchbook to the next participant. Go to the TS guidelines for more info.

Request to submit your work to the blog

This option is independent from the Traveling Sketchbook. If you are affiliated with Ringling in anyway and would like to show your work in this blog, please send Yezi digital versions of your work along with background info for the Featured Artist page.

Questions? Suggestions? Yezi is staring at her monitor waiting to hear from you!