If you follow any artists on Instagram, you know that it looks like their work always follows a smooth, logical procession: idea/inspiration, preliminary work (sketches, gathering exactly the right materials), a series of well-planned steps, and a beautifully finished piece.
It does happen that way sometimes. But sometimes the road to a creative project is extremely circuitous. This is the story of one of those latter times.
Hello, Sketchbook
Last year I signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project, an annual project hosted by the Brooklyn Art Library in New York. The way it works is that you sign up, buy a sketchbook, and send it back by a deadline to be included in their collection. The book is rather small with brown kraft paper covers and thin white pages inside.
Before I ordered, I looked over the themes to make sure that I could create something that would fit. One of the themes was tacos. I love tacos. I signed up thinking this would be the easiest thing I've ever done.
When the booklet arrived in July 2017, however, I tried to brainstorm a way to fill out the 30 or so pages. My brainstorm looked something like this:
mmm ... tacos
fish tacos, chicken tacos, steak tacos
mmm....
Did I have anything interesting to say on this topic at all?
So I did what I normally do when faced with an impossible problem--I went to the library. In September, I checked out a couple of books about tacos from the library, including Planet Taco and Tacopedia. I found the books fascinating--and my own idea less so. This might be a great idea for someone, but it wasn't a great idea for me.
Fall is typically my busiest time, so I put the booklet away until 2018. My only other action was to plunk a giant yellow Post-It note on the book cover: DUE MARCH 30!!!
Farewell, Tacos. Hello, Crafts?
In January I had the idea that I wanted to write a little book about my daily work owning my own handmade business. The sketchbook seemed like a possible place to do that. The idea energized me in a way that my taco book had not. I've been doing creative work long enough to know that you always follow the energy. It doesn't matter if the idea isn't trendy or if you're the expert on it, if you feel that spark that keeps popping up at odd times, then that's the idea to follow.
Before I got started, I thought I might find some inspiration looking at other sketchbook projects on Instagram. Bad, bad idea. Some of the participants are professional artists ... and it shows! I felt the opposite of inspired (despired?) looking at photo after photo of beautifully executed work; I wasn't sure I was up to this task at all. I let my booklet get buried under a pile of papers on my desk.
By early March, I still hadn't started (ugh, taxes!) but luckily the deadline had been extended to April 30, 2018, so I still had time. I had stopped looking at other people's finished sketchbooks online. Mine wouldn't be perfect, I decided, but it would be done.
Getting Crafty
To start, I wrote down everything I thought I wanted to cover. This ended up being more like an essay of a few thousand words than something short I could use for this art project. For me, it's always been easier to edit than to try to pad out content, so this did not worry me. I ended up just using a pared-down introduction, a conclusion, and a few key points.
I downloaded a free picture book template from children's book writer and illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi and made two very rough outlines with just a word or two on each page. The nice thing about the template is that it made it easy for me to think about two-page spreads rather than thinking in terms of single pages.
Next I spent a few days filling out every page in pencil. Then I added the drawings and then the colors, both watercolor and colored pencil. I preferred the look of watercolors, but found that the thin pages meant that those sometimes showed on the reverse of the page. I used colored pencil whenever I had a lot of color on a page so that the reverse page would still be readable. Finally, I inked all the text and key parts of the drawings. The cover design came last. I wanted to make something that was a little crafty to go with the theme, but the guidelines warned about having pieces that might fall off. I ended up using some embossed papers that I painted and attached with washi tape.
The Finish Line
Before you mail back your sketchbook, you need to fill out an online form with some keywords to help visitors find your sketchbook. You also need to choose a theme so that your book can be placed in the proper section. Of course, this is where I ran into another snag: I had not looked at the themes again before I decided on my new story. Oops.
A quick look confirmed that some themes like "underwater" were definitely not going to work. Luckily, the sketchbook project staff had wisely offered a few that were a bit looser. In the end, I chose "no worries." Crafting is one of those jobs where everyone appears to be always relaxed and happy all the time. I know that's not always the case, so to me, the theme is a little ironic. On the other hand, I do sometimes write "no worries" in my customer emails, so in that sense it did feel quite fitting.
A week later I received an email that my book had been catalogued. If you're ever at the Brooklyn Art Library, you can look it up at 346.10-6.
Tips For Your Own Sketchbook Project
- Start early.
It will take you longer than you expect.
- Consider your audience.
If you're not sure what to write, think about who might look at your sketchbook. College students? Retirees? What would they want to know or see?
- Give yourself a goal.
And no, not just the goal of finishing! Some artists use this project to work out new designs or plot lines that they might refine and use on other projects. Or you could use it to explore a medium that's new to you.
- Reconfigure your booklet.
You are allowed to change the paper you use for the book, as long as it meets the size requirements. I used the paper that came with it (I'm lazy!), but if I were to do it again, I'd probably use a heavier paper more suitable for watercolors.
- Work several days (or more) in a row.
There is something about creating an unbroken thread of work that makes this process easier. You'll find it easier to be consistent with your style and better able to spot places where you can make refinements and edits. (Plus, working on it consistently makes it harder for doubt to creep in.)
- Plan (or not).
In the writing world, people say that there are two types of writers: plotters and pantsers. Plotters like to make detailed outlines and charts before they begin work. They're the ones who don't start writing until they know their entire plot, characters, and setting. Pansters work "by the seat of their pants" making everything up as they go along. I found that for this project I was in both groups. I did some planning so that I knew in general what would be on each page, but I ended up writing the specific sentences on the fly.
- Avoid comparisons.
As Theodore Roosevelt noted, "Comparison is the thief of joy." In a group project like this, it's natural to compare your work to others. You'll be happier if you can concentrate on your own unique skills. Maybe you don't draw as well as some of the other artists, but maybe your sketchbook will be funnier or better written.
Next year's sketchbook project is starting soon! You can find more information at The Sketchbook Project.