Making Sketchbooks: AENW Workshop

Making folded square sketchbooks from recycled papers

Recently I was asked to run a short workshop at Tullie House for Art Educators North West, a group of teachers and others involved in art education who meet regularly to share ideas, experiences and skills. The workshop was to tie in with the Anselm Kiefer exhibition currently on show at Tullie and the programme of workshops being offered to schools.

Some of my sample sketchbooks

Folded Square Sketchbooks

Folded Square Sketchbooks-Opened out

The workshop I've designed for the schools in connection with the exhibition is a mixed media book making workshop so for this session I adapted that idea. I wanted to run a workshop that would be both enjoyable and useful so I was aiming for something that the educators would be able to take back and use with their students but that would also be fun to do.

Me showing one of my books

Folded square sketchbooks made from prints taken from painted fabric

One of my envelope sketchbooks

I always feel very nervous before I run a session for teachers, it's very scary teaching a teacher! However, everyone was really friendly and the atmosphere was relaxed and positive. I also got lots of positive comments so that's always a good confidence boost. I really hope the session was useful.

Envelope sketchbook seen from above

Envelope sketchbook

Envelope sketchbook

The workshop focused on three different ways of making sketchbooks; a folded square book, an envelope book and a variation on book maker Hedi Kyle's blizzard book. The other focus of the session was what paper to use, I wanted to look at using a range of recycled and discarded papers (rejected prints, junk mail, old maps, unneeded photocopies and so on.)

Preparing squares

Putting the squares together

Preparing squares

I had a range of books that I'd made to show the group and once we'd looked at those we got stuck in to the making. What I like about all three of these books is that they're basically very simple but there is a lot of potential to do quite exciting things with them. My favourite is probably the folded square book, it is just made of squares of paper but the way it is folded means that as well as being a flat sketchbook it can also be manipulated into more of a 3D form. It is a very tactile form and interesting to play about with.

Selecting and preparing papers

Preparing pages

A finished sketchbook

I also really like the envelope sketchbook, using an existing envelope as a template a range of envelopes are made from different papers and then joined together to form a book. The envelopes can be used to store things as well as being drawn on or written on as sketchbook pages. Like the folded square books they can also be made into more 3D forms. I think it would be great to work with a group making these and then use everyone's finished books to make an installation.

Life Drawing 10.2.15

Pen, continuous line

Sometimes I like to write my posts straight after the event I'm writing about, whilst everything is fresh in my mind. Sometimes, however, I need to sit and stew for a bit before I put finger to keyboard (that really doesn't have the same ring as pen to paper, does it?) Last week was fairly horrible for various reasons which, like most things, fade with time to become significantly less horrible. So, I am writing about last week's life drawing session in a more positive frame of mind, as I'm having a much better week this week.

Mixed sketches

Feet

Foreshortened leg

The session itself was, as usual, very enjoyable. I am lucky to have a roster of talented, reliable models who I know will always do a good job. Jude, our model for the evening, had some excellent poses and created some really interesting shapes. As I mentioned in my last life drawing post I'd been thinking about props and such like so I took a few bits along that Jude used to great effect.

Two coloured line drawing

Two coloured line drawing

Two coloured line drawing

Permanent marker

It's been good leaving it a while before writing about this session, even though I'd enjoyed the drawing and talking to the rest of the group when I came away at the end I wasn't at all happy with my drawings. I didn't think there was much good in there. However, looking back over the drawings to photograph them there are actually quite a few that I'm pleased with, including some from the longer pose that I had really struggled with.

30 seconds, blind

Red pen

Semi blind drawing

I did my usual mix of pen drawings; mostly fine ink pens and then a bit of permanent marker for a change. I experimented a little bit this week with using different pens for different parts of the drawing. For example, when Jude had the gloves on I used a different colour for the gloves and the body. I'm really pleased with how some of these have turned out because at the time it didn't feel like it was working very well.

Continuous line

I also did quite a bit of 'blind' drawing and some 'semi blind' drawing-where I give myself the freedom to not really worry about the results or whether it's a proper not looking at the page drawing but just try and capture the pose quickly and simply. I'm very pleased with the red line drawing (although it does look a bit like a murder scene) because I think the red makes it quite startling. For me it suggests there's a story behind the drawing.

The Book of Crow

The Story of Crow

This piece of work started life sometime last year as a sample piece for some workshops I'd been asked to run in connection with the upcoming Anselm Kiefer exhibition at Tullie House. The idea of the workshops is to look at different ways of preparing and reclaiming paper to make mixed media books. I was inspired by Kiefer's use of diverse and sometimes unconventional materials and by the variety of different books he has created throughout his career.

Page One

Page Two

Page Three

As I began working on the sample it sort of grew and became a bit more than I anticipated until it eventually evolved into a piece of work in it's own right. It's been a slow burner, I think I started it back in November and it's only this week that I've finally finished it. It's one of those pieces that I keep doing a bit on and then abandoning before coming back to, doing a bit more and then abandoning it again.

Page Four

Page Five

Page Six

Collage of the pages

The book tells the story of crow; in certain mythologies crow starts off as a pure, white bird . As with most stories there are many different versions of what happens next and, in true storytelling tradition, I've picked the bits that I like best from a range of stories to make my own version of the story. My version is partly based on a Greek myth, in which crow is the favoured companion of one of the gods. When crow reveals that the god's lover is cheating on him he is so enraged that he turns crow black and banishes him. I was interested in this idea that telling the truth isn't always the best policy and the idea of the insider becoming the outsider.

Front Cover

Back Cover

Collage of Reverse Side

The book is a simple concertina construction, with a hard cover at each end and a ribbon and button fastening. The pages of the book are mostly black and white photocopies that I worked into in different ways. I've used paint, ink, collage, printing, drawing and stitching. Following the story, the book is white to start with and gets darker and darker until the last page, which is black. I like the visual re-enforcement of the story and continued this theme on the other side of the book by using white fabric that I dip-dyed with black dye. This didn't go quite as smoothly as I hoped but I think the patchy, uneven colour actually works well with the rest of the book.

Drawing Detail

Collage Detail

Print Detail

Stitch Detail

To join the paper pages I used insertion stitches, the patching together echoes the way the story is patched together as well as adding a different texture. I wanted the book to look inviting and to provide a tactile as well as visual experience so I made two sheets of felt, one white and one black, for the book covers. It took me a long time to decide on the fastening; I played around with various ideas including felted cords, ties, loops and buttons before settling for a simple ribbon loop and handmade button fastening.

Button Detail

Gallery Artemis: Drawing Exhibition

Exhibition View

My year got off to an exciting start with the opportunity to exhibit some work at the lovely Gallery Artemis, so just after Christmas I headed over with some of my drawings and a few textile pieces. From the start of January until 14th February the gallery has been showing a drawing exhibition, which includes some of my work. As one of my goals for this year was to get more of my work on display I am obviously very pleased to have started the year with some work on show.

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

Exhibition view

I've been trying to get over to Cockermouth to see the exhibition since it opened but work and the weather have been conspiring against me. However, this weekend Mr. Stitches and I finally made it across and I'm so pleased we did. The exhibition is hung in the first 'room' of the gallery (it's quite open plan but naturally divides into 3 separate spaces), it's a lovely light space with wooden floors which make it feel warm and inviting. The drawings are hung close together, inviting you to get closer and look at the individual pieces. Several artists are on show and I love how different everybody's work is. There are quite a few life drawing pieces but again they are all different so it's great to see the different approaches, styles and media employed.

Work by Keith Fitton

Work by Ros White

I thought that all the drawings were of high quality and all had different qualities to recommend them but my favourites were the Chinese brush drawings by Keith Fitton and the beautiful charcoal and graphite poppy drawing by Ros White, With the centenary of the Great War last year the subject matter and dark tones I thought made a powerful memorial, I'm not sure if that was the intention but then one of the great things about art is that it can mean something different to each viewer. I left feeling inspired to come home, get into the studio and get drawing more.

Exhibition view

It was also really good to catch up with the gallery owner, Yvette, who is enthusiastic and friendly. She told me there have been positive comments about my work which is great and I have also sold a few of my brooches. As always, I have a head full of ideas so it's time to stop typing and get back to drawing and making...