Find New Ways to Fill Your Sketchbook Page

I went through middle school, high school, and college believing sketchbooks were only for drawing. They needed to be beautiful, something people would ooh and ahh about if they were lucky enough to flip through the pages.

So, I never used a sketchbook.

My process is messy. I write ideas EVERYWHERE. Collect bits and pieces of objects that grab my attention. I rarely sketch ideas, but if I do, they’re rough, as I’m trying to get a sense of something.

Once I started teaching high school, how I defined sketchbooks changed. I realized that many of my students weren’t completing and turning in their sketchbooks each week because they held the same beliefs about sketchbooks as I used to. Since they didn’t think that they were good enough to make a beautiful sketchbook, they left the pages black.

By changing how we defined a sketchbook into something that could hold anything and everything, students soon started showing up with pages filled.

They were having fun! Their sketchbook became a playground instead of a museum.

Sketchbooks are for ideas, inspiration, mistakes, relaxation, exploration, and more.

Are you missing opportunities to push your work to another level because you follow too many rules when using your sketchbook?

I’ve continued expanding on how I define a sketchbook and what you can do with one.

What if you cut the pages?
What if you stitch into the pages?
What if you glue?
What if you weave?
What if you fold?
What if it’s not even a book?

How would that change how you explore, experiment, ideate, play?

EVERYONE needs an experimentation sketchbook, or what I like to call an everything book.

Imagine what you can do with an everything book.

NOW GO AND DO IT

Want some help getting started? Watch the video below to see a wide range of ways to explore fiber arts. 

 If you LOVE fiber arts, find more inspiration in The Weaving Book