When I was at college and university we were all encouraged to keep sketchbooks and to use them to collect our thoughts, ideas, samples, drawings and so on as we worked. As such they became very personal items and it was sometimes hard to give them up for assessment! Since graduating (a long time ago…) my use of sketchbooks has been sporadic. Whilst I draw everyday I don’t always have a sketchbook on the go but I do find that after a while of not sketchbooking I tend to feel a bit lost and in need of a place to gather everything.
Sketchbook pages with sketched and print samples
A bit like starting a new year at school with a new pencil case and fresh exercise books there’s something exciting about a new sketchbook, a sense of adventure and endless possibilities opening up. When starting a new exercise book at school I used to always think ‘this’ll be the one I keep neat’ which generally lasted until the end of the first lesson by which time I’d already started doodling in the margins.
Sketchbook page with nuthatch drawings
Similarly with sketchbooks I start out thinking how focused I’ll be and how this will be a great sketchbook, each page will be amazing and a work of art in it’s own right and the completed book will be a masterpiece. Obviously, this never happens but that’s part of the beauty of sketchbooks; they’re a place to try things out, to experiment. That means sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding but always learning. It’s also what can make them so personal and I know many artists who won’t share their sketchbooks. Sketchbooks can be truly precious objects, sometimes diary like and often offering a direct view into that person’s world so if someone does offer to share their sketchbook with you take it as a huge compliment!
Sketchbook pages with paper feather experiments
This ties in with something I’ve been thinking a lot about recently and that’s the sharing of things on social media, in particular the sharing of art both in terms of finished work and the process of working. Platforms like Instagram offer a fantastic opportunity to share work, see other people’s work and to give and receive feedback and this is really important, especially when ‘real life’ interactions are restricted! However, the flip side is that it can feel like you have to keep sharing what you’re doing and it can be easy to get caught up in creating ‘content’ rather than ‘work.’ This can then lead to feeling unfulfilled and dissatisfied.
Sketchbook pages with feather drawings and collage experiments
With this in mind I’ve been a bit less active on social media recently. I’ve been trying to be a bit more mindful about what I post and to remember that I don’t have to share everything (good or bad.) I’ve been enjoying just doing things and some of them have made it on to my grid and some have just stayed in my sketchbook. Maybe they’ll be shared later on, maybe they won’t but the important thing is the doing and the sketchbook offers the perfect place for that. My sketchbooks tend to be a real mix of things; drawings, samples, lists, ideas and bits and pieces I’ve found lying around that interest me.
Handmade sketchbook with ink drawings
Sketchbooks are great because they can be whatever you want them to be, they’re for you and so it’s up to you what goes into them. They’re the perfect place to gather and explore what you care about and are interested in and to not care about what other people think! If you choose to share them that’s great and I do love seeing other people’s sketchbooks but I think it’s also good to sometimes have something just for you, there’s no pressure of a final finished piece, they’re an ongoing, evolving piece.
A stack of my handmade sketchbooks
You can make your sketchbooks even more personal by making your own and this is something I love doing. Making my own books means I can choose exactly what kind of paper to use, what size pages to have and how it all fits together. It doesn’t have to be complicated and in itself it’s a very creative act. If you fancy having a go at making your own sketchbooks I have an online video course ‘Inventive Sketchbook Making’ which shows you how to make six different types of book with (almost) no sewing! If you have a go and make your own books I’d love to see the results but remember you don’t have to share to care!
Until next time, happy sketchbooking and creating.
Helen
Find my online sketchbook making course here: https://www.udemy.com/course/inventive-sketchbook-making/?src=sac&kw=inventive
