Sketchbook exhibition: A few words about my sketchbook.

VISUALLY My sketchbook contains a lot of drawings, as I felt this was a good way to start the project. These are line drawings, ink drawings, pencil drawings, and stitched drawings- drawing with thread, which I think is appropriate as they are within the context of my work.

I have also done a lot of scanning/photos from my stitched samples and reworked images of things I have made and developed in the workshops, which I think work quite well in my sketchbook.

Quite a lot of the drawings from my sketchbook are original, such as the drawings from life, whilst I was at the ‘Dark Matters ‘ Exhibition (image 2), also I have done some little detailed drawings, which I think are more successfully done in within a small space, as they are quite delicate, so I think they fit within the space and context of my book (possibly something I’m still trying to work on is translating these drawings, happily, onto bigger and better paper…).

I have thought quite a bit about the layout of my sketchbook, and even though I feel I have experimented more in this project, I have still kept some sort of a-neat-organized-confusing-rhythm to it. I like to write notes, so I know what/why/where I’m going with ideas and such things, so I would like to think my sketchbook is clear, if not with very small writing…

CONTEXTUALY My work focuses around the idea of space, time, memories and shadows, and I have done in depth artist research e.g. Eva Hesse and Caroline Broadhead, however as pointed out, by comments in my book, this is not explored in my sketchbook… I did think it could be ‘wrong’ to write about other artists (as I have mentioned lots in my other notebook/blog) however, I now think it could be useful to illustrate the directions I have chosen in relation to artists and note it down in my sketchbook, for others and myself to reflect on.

Looking at the CONTENT I think that my ideas and starting points are clear, and I think the sketchbook flows easily from one page to the next, or there is at least a connection that can be seen throughout the pages (something also recognized by my peers). Again, I have drawn, and made little notes in order to keep developing my ideas.

Enough research to work from? Again I have quite a few places I write in, i.e. my notebook, (I also have lots of printouts, exhibition notes, images etc…) which has lots of research on artists, events, general ideas and thoughts, which I sometimes think could be too messy for my sketchbook, but it could be useful to put in my research very simply and subtly. I like to think it is somewhere I can start to translate all my thoughts into a clearer and simpler space, so I don’t want to put lots of distracting things that are other peoples information into where I am thinking – not yet anyway; maybe it could be good to do this.