Visual Sketchbooks - cont'd

OK now for Part 2,


But first - one more thing about the books. When assembling these, I like to use hard covers (usually heavy card stock or mat board) and I fuse hand dyed cloth to the front and back covers.

What you see in the next picture is a sketchbook open to the back page, showing the inside of the back cover.


This next picture is a page in the mid section of the same book showing the initial ink wash.

Next, I open the newly bound sketchbook either to the first page or last… not important which. Then, using a #11blade knife I cut out a shape (or two) from the page. Sometimes I use the imagery suggested by the black ink or I may have another specific shape in mind. I continue cutting out these shapes on several pages, focusing mostly on positive and negative shapes.




Using various black pens (from microns to fat markers) I add lines, textures and shapes at will to each page, going back and forth across the book. This process allows me to really develop a specific concept in much greater detail than ever before.




I end up with roughly four dozen drawings that are related in imagery, line, shape and texture. Sometimes I will fill up a book in one sitting but more often I will come back to the book several times to work a few sketches at a time. This is a very meditative process and provides rich thumbnails for future work.

Because of the way a book is structured, each cut out shape affects both sides of a page. As I turn to the next page, my cut out is still there but in a new context. This feeds the next cutout, inking and dare I say it even an occasional colour mark...

To keep things exiting, I have on occasion inserted a page or two of translucent organza or other textile into one of the signatures to allow for an occasional stitch mark to contrast with the paper drawings.


There are no end to the possibilities with this approach. Books can be made entirely of cloth and paper can be initially painted with coloured inks. I have been so busy just exploring the possibilities with black ink I haven’t yet been able to get around to colour – but it won’t be long!

My Take On Visual Sketchbooks

Lately I have been following with interest Pam RuBert’s posts about keeping visual sketchbooks organized. She collected a great list from her readers on how they tackle this – check it out HERE.


I'm no different...I too struggle with organizing and collating my sketches for easy reference. Recently I found a solution that has worked for me. I now sketch, draw, stencil and mark as I make the sketchbook….Weird huh? But this works.

Each one of my books contains several drawings related to one theme. They are all bound together into one book that is dated and signed. I got this idea from Dorothy Caldwell, whose work I love.


Here's how it works:
I start by slathering (yes, almost sloshing) black India ink on a large sheet of really nice white paper and let it dry. I work pretty fast using a foam brush, or sometimes I even pour the ink directly on the paper, let it settle a bit, tilt the paper etc.

My aim is to produce a rich contrast between the black of the ink with the creamy white of the paper. Acid free card stock quality paper or similar is very satisfying…


Then I cut the large sheet of inked paper into several 4’’ x 8½’’ stacks.

I fold these in two and arrange them into signatures ready for sewing into a sketchbook.
There are several online tutorials on how to sew these little books together.
Pam has a link to THIS ONE on her site. My favourite is a Coptic stitch bookbinding technique I found HERE. It is fast and fun to do.


Normally this would be the end of a sketchbook making exercise, but for me this is only the beginning. In my next post I will describe how the bookbinding and sketching come together and feed off each other!