How will another sketchbook compare?...

I was worried that, having filled my sketchbook bought in Barcelona I wouldn't be able to find another sketchbook that would compare! Then I found my Grandpa's notebook and felt that this should become my next sketchbook.

I've enjoyed using this book so much. I like the fact that it has previously been used and had another life before I even started drawing in it. I even found a phone number that I initially thought my Grandpa had written but on closer inspection I realised it must've been written by my Grandma as her handwriting was always a little more 'loopy.' My Mum has always said that my writing is just like my Grandpa's, small and very neat! Anyway, I'm getting off the point now.

You can see the phone number written on the above page but I haven't yet rung it. I guess I'll be a little disappointed if the number is no longer used or if it's for something quite mundane. I think I like the idea of it being an unknown, mystery number. I love a good mystery!

And so, the end of the sketchbook and I wonder what the ripped out pages were used for? Now I'm worried that I won't find another sketchbook to compare with this one. It's funny how things change! Maybe I should go and raid my Mother's house and see if I can find anymore books I may want to use?

Sketchbook 13 is completed...

Well, I have been very busy of late, (what's new) mostly documenting my daily exploits in my sketchbook. I used a sketchbook that had been in my possession for some time and belonged to my Grandpa. As I was quite attached to the sketchbook I'll confess I was a little scared of using it because I really wanted to do it justice but having drawn on page one, it really wasn't so bad! The sketchbook now has a whole new meaning in it's completed state, although I must say I'm actually quite sad I have no more pages left.

Let the drawing commence...

I can hardly believe it but I've actually completed and handed in my final essay and now I can continue to draw. I have some major plans but have sadly had little time to implement them of late! All this is going to change, rest assured, I shall be busy from now on with practical work. I intend to draw some more of my precious objects and then re work them in Illustrator, adding colour and texture. I also hope to draw and then make in fabric some three dimensional cameras (my camera collection continues to grow) and continue my recording of life in sketchbook form. If I still have time to breathe after all of that I may even include some new ideas I'm working on...obviously I want to keep you in suspense and not reveal too much!

The new sketchbook...

So, the sketchbook hunt continues but in the meantime I found an A6 notebook that belonged to my Grandpa that I'm using to document my life. I have to say it is very pleasing to work in and I love the fact that it's had an alternative life previously. I hope I'm doing it justice!

I also desperately wanted to draw some cameras during the holiday, as my collection has continued to increase but sadly I have one day left before work starts! Somehow I don't think it'll be spent drawing cameras but I'll do my best as I think it is an integral part to my work and hopefully my final exhibition.

Yorkshire Sculpture Park...

Last week I went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. I haven't been for a while so I was looking forward to it but wasn't particularly excited about the Juame Plensa exhbition that was on. How wrong I was. It was great and I particularly enjoyed the way he used text.

This was a metal curtain of text that you were able to walk through and touch. The metal letters clanged together. It also cast shadows of letters on the wall and floor of the gallery so you were surrounded by text. To me this was a joy!

In some pieces the text was used to create objects, which in much of the work was the human form.

I particularly like this piece. The text was punched in to metal and twisted throughout the figures. Although it is a very different technique to any I use it actually reminded me of my own sketchbook pages and the way I like to incorporate text so it is integral to the whole page, often winding through the imagery.

I'm so glad I went to the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. This was definitely an exhibition worth seeing and gave me so many ideas about the future of text within my work.

Crafty Bakie...

I've been very busy this summer, not just writing assignments and working obsessively in my sketchbook but producing pieces of work for friends. My latest craft making exercise involved making a knitted Morrissey for a friend's birthday.

I really enjoyed making and packaging him and I wondered whether I could somehow incorporate this way of working in to my MA work. I like the idea of a knitted Terry Baker with salt and pepper hair (more salt than pepper.) I'm not sure he would! Perhaps I could make people and objects in my life and put them away in neat, little packages. These could be displayed as another one of my groups. This is definitely something I need to think about.

Return from Berlin...

I have neglected my reflections of late as it's the summer holidays and I've actually been in Berlin and am super inspired since my return. I've been to all the major galleries and just being in another city and seeing all the street art has got my creative juices flowing. There was one bad point to my holiday...I searched high and low for the perfect A6 sketchbook...and came home empty handed. Since completing my life changing, delicious sketchbook I'm now worried I'll never find another one that will live up to my high expectations.