I was so excited several months ago when I heard there would be a big exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum all about Jean-Michel Basquiat’s notebooks. I’d seen some of the images of the notebooks and pages and thought it sounded really cool, but then I read that the notebooks had been carefully disassembled so the … Continue reading Basquiat Notebooks
From a lovely essay about appreciating the worn, torn, lived-in-ness of books and notebooks, the “messiness of creation”: “For about fifteen years now I have been keeping a notebook, or multiple notebooks actually, ostensibly with the intention of jotting down ideas or thoughts before they escape off into the ether. Occasionally these thoughts result in … Continue reading In Praise of Wear and Tear
This week’s addict is Ben Hatke, creator of the ‘Zita the Spacegirl‘ series. In a guest post at GeekDad, he talks about the importance of sketchbooks in his creative process: “I can’t stress enough the importance of sketchbooks in my creative work. I think one of the most important things that anyone with an interest … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Ben Hatke
This week’s addict is another discovery via Sharing Our Notebooks. Suz Blackaby is a writer of poetry, fiction and non-fiction for children. She’s laid out quite a collection of notebooks on this table! And yet she says she still resorts to jotting things on envelopes and napkins… “So when it comes to notebooks, it … Continue reading Notebook Addict of the Week: Suz Blackaby
I love notebook pages with measurements and plans! I found this one accompanying an excerpt from Nina MacLaughlin’s memoir Hammer Head: The Making of a Carpenter: “…the story of MacLaughlin’s journey out of a drag-and-click job at a newspaper and into a carpentry apprenticeship. In this section MacLaughlin strikes out on her own to craft … Continue reading A Bookshelf-Builder’s Notebook
Spotted in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal, among Chuck Palahniuk’s list of favorite things: “I rely on Moleskine notebooks. I just fell into the habit—they’re so nice looking. I was in Madrid last summer, and found they had them in all these neon colors—wild bright reds and yellows—that I can’t find in Portland [Ore.], … Continue reading Moleskine Monday: Chuck Palahniuk Relies on Them… But Burns Them!
I just subscribed to a newsletter from French style icon Ines de la Fressange, in which she recommends various finds– mostly clothing, beauty products and housewares, etc., but I was also happy to spot this plug for a French bookshop that apparently has a great selection of notebooks! It’ll be on my list of place … Continue reading Ines de la Fressange Collects Notebooks
Catching up on some old links I’ve saved, here’s a nice wrap-up of some books featuring the pages of artists’, designers’, and scientists’ notebooks, including the one below from Field Notes on Science & Nature: “A typical notebook page detailing the thoughts and events of a day doing fieldwork at Olorgesailie, Kenya, with a personal … Continue reading A Paleontologist’s Field Notebook
Last week, I was able to visit the NY Now Gift Show for the first time. It’s quite an extravaganza– the whole Javits Center filled with vendors showing off housewares, crafts, and all manner of gifty items. If you’ve ever bought a stationery item or a candle or a pillow, or any of a million … Continue reading NY Now Gift Show
From Ian Brown’s lovely essay about keeping a notebook, published in the Globe and Mail: “It’s a neurotic habit, a personal notebook. It can work as a diary, but it’s not intended for publication. Anaïs Nin, who kept a diary from the age of 11 to the day she died at 73 (it started as … Continue reading “A Neurotic Habit”