SKETCHBOOK ENVY?

I have just been reading Margaret Cooters blog HERE, about sketchbooks, its very interesting & I thought Id add my sixpennyworth.

CLEAR PRIORITIES - VICTORIA FOLGATE

As a City & Guilds tutor, one of the requirements is to make 'back up' work for each item made, this is never called a sketchbook but it is exactly that, it lays down sketchy ideas & formulates resolutions.

BURN-JONES SKTCH OF WILLIAM MORRIS

At the moment there seems to be some sort of sketchbook snobbery around the internet, where beautifully constructed pieces of art are de rigeur.  Most of us are mere mortals and are not artists, not trained or naturally gifted or dont have the time or indeed the want to produce sketchbooks, beautifully laid out, individual little pages of art

There are many blogs and courses showing altered books which quite frankly are a complete mess.  Slapping stuff down & saying look at me, I am an artist.  Nothing wrong with that except it 'aint' art its playing, experimenting, making a mess, very few pieces that I see are constructed, thought about, considered pieces of what is called art.  Im all for people giving stuff a go, keeping notes etc, practising making what are in effect sketchbooks.

PHOTOGRAPHIC SKETCHBOOK - ME

 Many of the beautiful 'sketchbooks' are not sketchbooks they (to me & its my blog so its my opinion) are individual pieces of art.

TEXTILE SKETCHBOOK OR SAMPLES

There is so much envy, WHY???  Do it YOUR way, not their way, do it with your knowledge, build on your knowlege, do workshops expand your knowledge in your SKETCHBOOK.  Write rubbish, stick any old thing, then when these ideas have been explored, create little pieces of art from a CONSIDERED view.  Ramble on Folgate.....

I have beautiful art pieces, photography, I have rubbish, I have sketchbooks, I have design books, I have a diary and I have this blog, all help me to grow as a textile artist.  But I am trained, I know elements & principals, I choose to employ or reject them, but I know the bottom rungs of the ladder.

STITCH SKETCHING - ME

What is the point of this rambling....it is to help to quash to ENVY that exists when a mostly trained artist who can indeed draw and make something look like THEY want it too, who has explored over a period of time, the colours & styles that work for them.  I read comments that say, if only, or I wish or wow. 

TECHNIQUE SKETCHING

Come on people its a short life, grab any paper or fabric work out ideas as a sketchbook and carry them forward into your own piece of art or art textile, dont be envious of others, use others as inspiration, print out, cut up images, stick in or on something & STUDY it.  That is the word STUDY, really look. 

EXPLORATION

I use a work looksee, maybe I made it up I dont know, but LOOK & SEE, ponder on the word, it means a huge amount.  When I create my workshops, I try to looksee what I think a PRACTISING artist would want to do, I would hope that purchasers or indeed freebiers would experiment in a 'sketchbook' so that they have REFERENCE material for further exploration.

SKETCHBOOK ON CIRCLES

I could make a lovely designed sketchbook, offer it as a course, bring about the envy! What on earth would the point of that be, copying my notes and way of working, what would that achieve, lots of little clones, not what I am about.

SKETCHBOOK ON KEYS

So to sum up what is a heartfelt rambling, YOUR sketchbook is done in YOUR way, the most important thing is to START, grab paper or fabric and a big marker pen & mess up the the first page or part of the fabric, take the worry away.  My students have been horrified when I do this in their nice new sketchbooks, but it makes a point, DO IT YOUR WAY, but DO IT. 

FRANCES PICKERING

When you have explored many ideas in your sketchbook, be it on paper or in fabric - which is commonly called SAMPLES, then MAKE SOMETHING using a combination of your sketchbook (sample) ideas. If you dont know what to make, well shameless self promotion - buy one of my workshops or see if there is a FREEBIE available & one is a-coming

STEPHANIE REDFERN

VICTORIA FOLGATE

CREATIVE CHALLENGERS - ME

 

 

Ramble over, what do YOU think??