With Tumblr we recently joined in the 5 year celebration of a user submitted online art gallery called EatSleepDraw.
One of our favorite party games is to draw somebody as they draw you. This concept seemed like it would fit in great with the EatSleepDraw party so we brought it with us.
To see what the experience was like, please visit this great recap:
Vlad is our Author-a-Month for September and we are happy to share his thoughts with you and the newly created Sleeve & Bookmark MSKs.
Vlad Urbakhanov - Bookmarks
Tell us a bit about yourself, what do you do?
I’m an illustrator, so I work all day everyday. Drawing is the one of the best ways to spend time for me.
How did you come to try your first Moleskine notebook?
I saw Moleskine accidentally in the web. And I couldn’t resist.
What does using a Moleskine notebook mean to you?
It’s very useful and it’s fun.
About your winning submission, why did you use watercolor to capture that moment in time?
The location is where I live and Watercolors are my favorite medium.
How much time does it take to make your amazing watercolor creations?
In general about 1 or 1.5 hours.
What does your winning submission mean to you?
When I look at my sketches, I feel all the feelings which I felt when I was there.
Parting words for fellow Moleskine fans?
Less words and more drawings.
Thanks Vlad!
Vlad Urbakhanov - Sleeve
If you like his work you can see more on his website here or if you want to use his newly created bookmark or sleeve please go here:
http://mymoleskine.moleskine.com/community/msk_templates.php
Often times the first page of a journal takes the longest to complete. We found a great writeup on many inspiring ideas and ways to use a journal.
http://rookiemag.com/2012/08/emmas-with-a-few-edits/
Something we believe at Moleskine is that you don’t have to be a perfectionist. Each notebook is a space to grow and develop your thoughts and stories. Nobody has one great idea after another but developing that idea over time will lead you where you want to go.
“It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.” Albert Einstein.
Why do you journal?
Balancing analog and digital in life is nothing new but linking them efficiently is. That is why we are very happy to share the news of our new partnership with Evernote and the Evernote Smart Notebook.
Productivity enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys the feel of paper have always been faced with a difficult choice of balancing analog and digital. We learned a lot from releasing our first app but the biggest request we heard was to add Evernote. This new partnership has created a notebook that is perfect to create on with amazing technology supporting it on the back-end. Going through old notes can be a serendipitous experience; but for the times you want to find a certain note right away, this manual process can slow you down. The new Smart Notebook eliminates that issue.
Creating a great user experience during this analog to digital process was a major concern for everyone involved on this project. This lead to the creation of smart stickers that help tag and organize your notes automatically for you. Evernote also added a new feature to their camera where snap notes (images) then review all your photos at once. This will help you save time from having to review each note separately. If this new work flow is something you adapt and love, we are also giving you 3 months Evernote Premium with each notebook you buy.
The news announced recently at the annual Evernote conference. Keeping this project secret was very hard for all of us. We want to share some pictures with you to help capture what the conference was like to attend.
We also captured the exact moment this news broke. We hope you enjoy the talk!
First the bad news -
No Author-A-Month to feature and share with you here.
Now the good news -
When you upload your work to myMoleskine, your art will now be featured on our homepage (until somebody new posts).
We look forward to seeing what you upload to the community and next month we will return with our Author-A-Month spotlight!
Very soon we will be able to share our new website with everyone! We are very excited to start this new chapter of a digital journey with all of our amazing fans.
We want to make sure everyone is aware our website will be down for a few short days.
Until then…
We are proud to share with everyone the newest author-a-month fan selection, Eva Szentgyorgyi. She had one of the most liked Facebook posts ever on our fan page, now you can learn more about her.
Feature:
Your Moleskine Faces – Details that we posted on Facebook was very popular, can you share about what the piece means to you and what was going on in your mind as you created it?
ES – Honestly it started with a symmetric face of Buddha, but it didn’t look so good as I thought at first. I used many paints to hide the face and shut the book again. After only the eyes of Buddha have remained, and a butterfly shape formed in the middle. I can’t tell why or how I got the idea to cut it round, maybe because I like to use more than one material or intervene with something different into my artworks to amaze the people. It is an experimental work, I just let my mind flow.
My submission will always reminds me that I would like to continue 3-D projects, and it inspires me to think about more possibilities.
What does using a Moleskine notebook mean to you?
ES – My first and only Moleskine notebook means a lot to me, because it is a birthday present from one of my best friends. I always wanted to buy one but when I got it finally, I was scared. I was afraid that I won’t be able to make enough good artwork. So I put it away for 1 year and then it has turned up on the occasion of moving. After some days I took courage and painted a study on the first pages.
How does creating on a notebook help you as an artist?
ES – Moleskine notebooks have a very good quality of paper and it means a new media for me. I could find out that what happen if I mix the watercolor with acryl paint. The result is beautiful, because on that surface these kind of materials act different than on a traditional paper. The second thing is that I can close it, so I can play with the symmetry more easily than if I paint one page then shut the book for some seconds. So, I can tell that Moleskine has opened a new way to express myself.
What project are you working on now?
ES – Presently I am working on a chinese zodiacs illustration series, it is a self project to improve my skills and become absorbed in the digital media. Next to the fine arts I am interested in graphic design, so I am spending many hours in front the computer learning to use illustrator software.
Any parting words for fellow Moleskine fans?
ES – Hmm… create create create! Let your mind or let your Moleskine guide you to do something good, interesting. At last thank you so much for reading this interview, and took your time to know me a bit. Thank you so much!
Moleskine – Thank you very much for your time and being part of our community! As always we have created a bookmark and sleeve in her honor.
You can see more of Eva’s uploads to myMoleskine here.
Also you can view her blog here.
Interested in a collection of fascinating letters or postcards? We were as well and wanted to pass along this great blog to you:
As we have been working to help celebrate handwriting, this collection of letters and writing through the years is very inspiring.
How will the digital age change the written form of communication? Will anyone 200 years from now be able to understand how we communicate now?
June was a busy month for myMoleskine uploads. Thanks once again to all of our great fans for visiting and adding to the community.
Here are the finalists for July’s Author-A-Month:
Laruelle Camille-Victoire – Les Parques
Dominic Damien – so now you miss me
Eva Szentgyorgyi – Moleskine Faces-detail
Please join us on our Facebook page and help choose this months winning author!
We hope everyone is enjoying your summer so far!
We would like to share with you a fun video for the summer.
Where has your notebook taken you this summer?
