return of the sketchbooks!

I decided to do a little more sketchbook research! Plus, I wanted to have a go at making a  few more books- I gave the first ones I did away as presents to people! (I'll upload pictures of the new books I've made in a fresh post after this one)

These handmade books (the work of artist, Ashleigh Meusel) are beautiful- they are made using Japanese 'stab' binding. I think the name sounds a bit vicious, but the final appearance this technique gives the spine, is quite amazing.

see more at the artist's website, here

I have also developed a love of fancily folded books! After a bit of pinterest and blog searching, I came across star tunnel books, such as the one pictured here, made by Karen Kiick, who ran a 'book arts' course, focused on exploring different book-making techniques. I certainly want to try making something like this! It's a work of art in it's own right, as well as being a useable book. It's a bit like a fancier version of our simple french fold concertina books, made in the second session of this module...

Star tunnel book, Karen Kiik 2010 (image accessed here)

This is also very exciting, from Karen Kiick's website- a popup book! These remind me of children's story books- you immediately feel like you want to interact with the work, because it moves beyond the flat surface of the page:

I like how these three-dimensional books have a heightened sense of narrative. In our opening sketch innovation session, we discussed how sketchbooks are a place where the story or journey of a project unfolds and can be looked back on. It would be interesting to create a 3D book like this for a project, and see how it influences the development of ideas- perhaps it would encourage more creative, playful, innovate thinking than simply a flat sketchbook does? ...It's an interesting idea for future projects in my textiles practice!

All booked up - Part 2

So, in the first part of this post, I was reflecting on my own working style and sketchbook practise.
But now- onto what I saw and learned from others and THEIR books!

It felt like each person's book reflected their thinking processes- which figures, as in the first week we discussed about how a 'sketch' is a visual record of a thought/event/idea...so a sketchbook is basically just a whole flow of these recorded ideas! I loved seeing how some people worked in a very structured, ridged way, while others whacked anything and everything into their books, using them almost like a journal of their day.

After talking about my own work, I then had the pleasure of seeing Abi's.
Her book felt very personal, with lists and notes to herself scribbled on pages every so often. I particularly liked that this one was upside-down!

Then moving on to her project work, she seemed very comfortable developing ideas in her book, allowing collaged images and scribbles of colour to speak for themselves as visual triggers for other research, which she said is outside of her book on loose sheets.

 Her sampling definitely felt like it was being recorded for herself- with little annotations to act as a reminder of what she did/how many needles to use/specifics about techniques of the knitting. 

 There was definitely a sequential feel, as she then remade and developed certain samples, and then used drawing and photocopy collage to demonstrate how they could work as a full garment. The development of her ideas felt quite natural and organic- it seemed she recorded things in the moment, and it helped each new development to flow together well. 

 Next I looked at Lisa's book! I loved the energy to her work- things were clipped in, with little sketches added ontop in layers at places, which added to the sense of her ideas all tumbling out.

 There was really a feel of 'personal language' in her sketchbook journey- she seems to enjoy doodling and writing words that capture her emotion to express how she feels her work is going, alongside the actual work itself (as evidenced below in pink and orange highlighter!)

 Her style has quite a rapid feel to it, with research and experimentation taped in over various pages. I thought that this aligned quite nicely to the outcome of the particular project this book was documenting- she made some big wooden monsters to inhabit a land of her imagination- the bold, patched together presentation of her work mirrored this.

 In terms of a sketchbook being a 'place to play', I found this quite true of Lisa's work. 

On these pages, she drew Koalas...because, in her words, 'why not?!'

I think this is quite a delightful little interlude in the middle of her work. And why shouldn't sketchbooks have seemingly random parts to them- because it's often the random little things in day to day life that spark off inspiration for ideas, so it's great to see this so openly embraced within the sketchbook itself. (Although Lisa wasn't so sure when it actually came to letting us take a photo of them. But I love it!)

 It was wonderful seeing work from other disciplines, too. As a textiles student, I don't think I've ever really had a proper insight into the way graphics and ISD students work.

Here's 2 images from Nisha's book, who is studying interior spatial design. She said her book was mainly a way to think about process for her larger separate sheets of work. Her drawings were linear, and weren't worked into in any particular way, she tended to focus more on using her book as a notebook to write in.

 I asked her about the colour-coding of her notes, as there seemed to be some kind of system. She said she used the colours to show different levels of importance, and to categorise her thinking. Personally, I found this is quite a good idea. Although in textiles, it would probably be a good idea to select colours that won't interfere with the colour palette of the sample work itself!

Then I saw Sayaka's book from graphics. Thinking about sketchbooks being a tool to 'make sense' of things, I really got that feel from Sayaka's work, as when she showed it to us she said things like 'I don't know why I drew this at the time', or 'I was travelling and just felt like doodling this', and 'I started drawing this, and then it turned into this'...

 She was also a list writer!

 In relation to her area of study of graphics, you could sense that even the little doodles were all starting points for a graphic design that could be developed further. 

I was really fascinated by Winne's book from ISD, probably because she largely works in such a different way to myself! Rather than being bursting with samples and fabrics, Winnie's work had a calmness to it- things were measured and calculated, and had an air of precision. Obviously precision is important in textiles too, but even her experimentation felt architectural and structural- as this is the context that she is working to all the time. She seemed to be drawing to develop her understanding of space, which I suppose when you are designing for spaces, is quite a vital thing! I liked the way she drew in human figures also at points, as if the drawings are a way to imagine things to a full-size scale.

 In a separate book, Winnie also sketched simply to 'practise drawing', and I thought this was lovely. It let her personality shine through in a more individual way than her more technical book, and allowed her to develop ideas simply for fun, that could then feed into projects when relevant. It seems that whatever your field of art is, it's good to have a non-specific book simply for the purpose of play and enjoyment- for discovery, that could come in handy sometime in the future!

So, there's my round up of things observed and learnt through others. Mostly what I'll take away from today is a renewed enthusiasm for sketchbooks. I felt a slight sense of pride in presenting my book from my last project- looking back at it was a nice reminder of the journey I went on from the research to outcome. Our tutor, Peter, used the word 'cathartic'. And I think that looking back at your own work very much is. You realise that you didn't really know where your ideas would lead you...and following your own journey through the book, you follow how things developed and got released in a way that you never could have fully expected at the very start. It was great to hear other people talk about their work. And it was funny that things we each thought uninteresting/not worth showing, such as lists of things to do and materials to buy, or scribbly little sketches, were actually all very much appreciated by everyone whose work it wasn't, even though the owner thought it wasn't worth spending time over. To the outside eye, all process is interesting. We all like to see and understand. It motivates me to want to try and record my own processes and experimentation better, otherwise it can easily get lost in the flow of ideas, and people don't get to see everything you played around with on the journey!

What a long double post. Now I am officially all 'booked up'. So over and out for now!

All booked up

Today was a session filled with insight -- by the means of looking at each others books!

It was really nice to see the varying selection of books we'd all had a go at making- from Abi's wood-covered small flip books, to Hannah Straw's A4 size fluff-covered pad!

First up though: my books!
Here is a sneak peak of the pamphlet-style book I made after last week's introduction to book making techniques. I used my newly acquired bone-fold to crisply fold my pages into 'signatures' (ooh yeah, I was listening to the technical terms!), and then laid them precisely and carefully together inside the cover, which I cut slightly bigger, with the aim of neatly containing the pages. As I didn't have access to a long-handled stapler to join my book together, I attached a heavy duty needle to my sewing machine, and sewed down the middle instead! I'm quite pleased with the results. And on a side-note to myself: I think I might make a few for family Christmas presents!

the front- with a little decoration (as usual!) to jazz things up

 I managed to get quite a neat, even line of stitching on this I reckon -- result!

In the session, we each had 10 minutes to present our personal sketchbooks from current/previous project work in our course-specific areas. I took in my sketchbook from the last project of the summer term in 1st year. Funnily enough, I realised that in effect, I 'made' my own books for all my projects last year, even though I didn't really think of it that way at the time. I also realised that I tend to work in staggered way, using my sketchbooks for more certain, concrete ideas that I want to show to others/my tutor as my work progresses. I don't tend to work in a very rough way in my sketchbooks, just incase others get confused/misunderstand when they are looking at my work to try and understand my concepts. For research and planning stages, I tend to work on loose sheets that then get put in a file, or get chopped up and put into my sketchbook in a more organised way. This is the first time I've been properly aware that I don't just do my sketchbooks with myself in mind- I am normally always considering how what I do will help others understand my ideas, too, to some extent. 

The cover of my last project sketchbook- a print out of one of my print designs, stuck onto the outside of the inner pages.

 A 'perfect bind'- I didn't know that's what it was called at the time when I did it...but I do now!

 I included photos at the very start to contextulise the work that followed work- this project was an installation, and I was aiming to make it for the local bus stop

 initial drawings/doodles, that I constructed into 3d paper flower models

 I never realised before how interactive my books can end up! Here everyone in my group that I was showing the book to thought it was fun/funny to have parts that pulled out/extended- like a book within a book. I think my work can be quite narrative- I like to show the different processes as little stories to follow that slot in place within the bigger narrative of the progression of the project.

 rougher pages that showed how my pint designs developed- included more in terms of assessment, for my tutor to see how I arrived at my print collection outcome. 

 my pages towards the end of my sketchbook work seem to get less busy/neater in line with my ideas being finalised and realised. This is also an interesting observation about using sketchbooks- there seems to be a natural ebb and flow within the energy of it's structure, with any parts that show development being quite full and varied, yet the initial outline and final ending are much more paired down. 

So I found this week very interesting in terms of a deeper, conscious self-realisation of the way I myself work. In part two of this post, I'll upload my pictures/realisations that came from looking at others work this week!