The Tiny Pages Project, elsewise known as #tinypagesproject, is a series of miniature ink sketches (and photos thereof), which I started a few weeks ago.
As a part of my work for Badon Hill I make tiny book necklaces, usually about an inch and a quarter by an inch in size. Years ago, I made an even smaller journal necklace for myself, measuring in at a mere inch by half-inch, but I could never decide what to fill it with.
I recently decided that it's pretty ridiculous to wear a tiny book around as a necklace, when there's nothing at all in its wee little pages. I determined to fill it up with something. I still didn't have any real plan as to what I was going to fill it with, but I knew it needed to be filled. So, on a very late, very long overnight train from Little Rock, Arkansas to Saint Louis, Missouri, I put ink to the first page.
The Tiny Pages Project officially began.
I'm now ten entries in, with lots and lots of blank pages left to go, but I have a much better feel for where I'm headed with this project and what purpose I want it to serve. Or, purposes, because let's be honest, hardly anything cool ever has just one purpose.
First, the Tiny Pages Project gives me a good excuse to make art.
I love to draw, but I get so busy with other things in life that I can go weeks without sketching at all. Having this series going keeps reminding me that I need to at least draw a tiny little something every few days. I've also enjoyed the challenge of drawing strictly in ink - no penciling first, then inking once it's perfect. I've always been a perfectionist, so this forces me to loosen up and be okay with slight imperfections. And I need that.
Second, the Tiny Pages Project is helping me to stay creative and think of new stuff.
I think every creative person knows that it can sometimes be easy to get stuck in a creative rut. I hope every creative person knows that the best way to get out of a creative rut is probably to just create stuff. I usually come up with some great ideas for new things to make or try or do while I am making or designing something else already. This goes back to that great Austin Kleon quote again: "You can't find your voice if you don't use it." (from Show Your Work! By Austin Kleon)
The more you do creative actions, the more your creative juices can flow, and the onslaught of ideas can be fierce! But I would rather have way too many ideas running circles around in my brain than have no ideas at all.
The third, and most important, purpose of the Tiny Pages Project is to show others how something as tiny as a 1 x 1/2 inch piece of paper can be a vessel for beauty and creativity - and adventure.
I wanted to be able to show others, and myself, just how meaningful these tiny leather journal necklaces can be. Often when people see these journal necklaces, they comment on how cute they are, but even if they don't follow that comment up with asking what on earth it is used for, their furrowed brow asks clearly enough. What are you supposed to do with such a tiny book?
I know some of my customers have used them to write down teeny notes while on the go, or to record the tiniest of memories while on a trip. I had thought they could be used for any number of word-related uses, but sometimes a sketch holds more meaning than a pile of words. For myself, tiny ink illustrations seem to be the best way to fill my little journal necklace.
So this is my invitation to you: if you own a little book necklace like mine, I'd absolutely love for you to join me in the Tiny Pages Project!
It doesn't matter if your sketchbook necklace is from Badon Hill or somewhere else, or even made by yourself, I want to see what you're filling it with! (And if you don't have one yet, you can buy one from Badon Hill here.) Whether you're writing tiny haiku, practicing your calligraphy, taking notes on a vacation, painting little landscapes, or sketching abstract art - it doesn't matter! If you're putting it in a little book, share it using the #tinypagesproject hashtag.
It's not a contest to see who can make the tiniest art, or who can be the most creative, but it is a way for us all to inspire each other. You know, a rising tide lifts all boats!
So what do you say? Are you ready to join me in the Tiny Pages Project?
I can't wait to see what you share!
