Art House Co-op, sponsors of the Sketchbook Project, always have a lot of great projects to keep artists inspired and creating.  I occasionally like to participate in these, because they make me really think and try to be creative.  They help get me out of the ruts I can tend to get into.  One of the projects I did was the Map Project.  Here's the gist of the project (from the Art House Co-op website):

The Map Project

What does your world look like?

From Google’s satellite imagery to the directions we sketch on napkins, maps of all kinds help us make sense of our surroundings. The Map Project is an opportunity to channel your inner cartographer and create a map of your world. Chart your neighborhood, depict your hometown or plot out the landscape of your dreams — The Map Project is open to representations of any environment. We’ll transform our storefront exhibition space into a communal atlas, guiding visitors to places both real and imaginary.

"Mind Map of My Month: March 2012"

With this project, I really challenged myself to think outside of the box.  I knew I didn't want to try to draw a map of a real place...a cartographer I am NOT.  I'm not really sure where I got the inspiration for the mind map--most likely online somewhere.  I heard of using a mind map to organize your to-dos, and I am super forgetful, so I'm always trying to find ways to stay on top of things.  I made myself a mind map, and of course, the artist in me had to make it pretty!  I originally made my map in a little book I have, but I redrew it on different paper to fit the format for the Map Project.  This mind map is a really great way for a very visual person like myself to stay organized!

Donna : )