The "Alternet" Project

What happens if you give an artist a couple of library card catalog cabinets? She starts thinking about filling the drawers with artwork. But filling the drawers alone can be a daunting task, so she invites other artists to help her. And so, The "Alternet" project began.

Back at the beginning of the year, Marina's art professor and Alternet creator, Carla Rae Johnson, invited her to contribute to the project. We went online to buy catalog cards and Marina diligently started working on her three hundred.

Yes. Three hundred cards. The idea is that you create three hundred cards over the course of a year and at the end of the year the work will be displayed in the drawers of the cabinet. I spent the first few months of the project keeping Marina calm, since she was overwhelmed with coursework and afraid she would never reach the goal. At the beginning of July there would be a get together of the artists, to celebrate the halfway point and see how the cards would look in the drawers. 

It was at this party that I got the itch. Carla Rae mentioned they were still in need of a few artists. I have always specialized in small scale artwork, ever since I was a child and my Grandma would bring me small pads from her office to draw in. I also figured the best way for Marina to see that it could be done was by example. So at the halfway point, I joined the party. I had the option of doing only 150 cards, but I figured I could do the full amount. After all, I used to facepaint at festivals where I would easily knock off fifty designs in a couple of hours. I look at this as a return to sketch journaling, something I haven't done since high school. 

Right now, Marina has a little over two hundred cards. I'm at one hundred fifty. Here are some samples of our work. (Click on any picture for an enlarged view.)

By me. This is one of several I've done in my facepainting style.

Mine. Showing my inspiration from children's books.

A sketch I did of my son.

Can you tell I'm most comfortable with a pencil?

One of Marina's early cards.

Marina's art. She did several cards like this, as if you were dropped into a storybook.

Marina's art. I love this one!

Marina's art. She spent so much time on this one. She's a strong sketch artist.

 If you are interested in seeing more on this project, including what other artists are working on, visit The "Alternet" Facebook page.