The title sounds like a children’s book, doesn’t it. Maybe I should just go with it!

Mimi, The Little Sketchpad

Once upon a time there was a little sketchpad named Mimi who lived inside a dark corner of Purseland. While other occupants of Purseland were frequently travelling in and out of the darkness, Mimi was so little (3″x5″) that she was often overlooked and remained inside her small corner. Despite saying her prayers every night and lots of positive affirmations, she was losing hope that she’d ever see the light of day. Her cover was getting worn and curled as she nestled deeper and deeper into the musty folds of Purseland.

One day, Mimi was abruptly awakened from a somewhat sexy dream of charcoal and pastels rubbing against her fibres – a bright beam was streaming into her corner, followed by a large fleshy mass approaching her rapidly. Within a nano-second, she was yanked out of Purseland and into the Brilliant Unknown. How glorious! The colours! The light! The cool air rippling her pages! But her euphoria only lasted a few seconds as she was thrust into a new dark pocket. But this one was different – it was meshy, for lack of a better term. She could see vague outlines of shapes through it and she caught the waft of a breeze. Despite not knowing where she was, she thought “This new pocket is definitely an upgrade from Purseland!”

And unlike Purseland, Mimi didn’t stay in this new pocket much. Over the next several days, she’d be out in the Brilliant Unknown for several minutes at a time. Once on a bench in an historical city. Twice on café tables. A few times in strange moving vehicles on land and water. And once in a warm cosy apartment.

Inside the Little Sketchpad: Percé Fish Factory from a café table and A Shelving Unit Inside An Apartment

Such an adventure! She enjoyed the sensual scratching of the ink pen (especially the hatching marks which felt like a massage) and the cooling sensation of the watercolours. She wanted it to last forever. But a few short days later, she was back in Purseland – back in the damp dark folds with the lint and the forgotten pennies.

Her Purseland return was thankfully cut short though, thanks to the fleshy hand who once more pulled her into the Brilliant Unknown. “Hurray!” she thought, “Another vacation.”

Not this time – it was something different, something wonderful. Something that would always keep a part of Mimi out in the Brilliant Unknown for good. The new drawings on her pages were delicately removed from her ring bindings and placed in a larger sketchbook, a sketchbook that sat prominently on display in a cosy, colourful room.

Inside the Little Sketchpad: Champlain Statue from a café table, and Rue St. Louis from a bench, Québec City

And to her delight, she was then placed back into the preferred meshy pocket, next to a new friend Mr. Platinum Carbon (he’s a pen with a nice touch!), and often gets taken out to discover and record more of the Brilliant Unknown.