Artist's Books
For me, scrapbooking isn't just about preserving my memories, it's also about expressing myself creatively and developing as an artist. In the process of learning various techniques and design principles for my pages, a whole new world has opened up to me - the world of the artist. Honestly, I always thought that you were either an artist or you weren't - that it was something some people are just born with and that somehow I missed that gene. But, now I've come to understand that like many other things in life, art is not just a talent, but a learned skill. And for me, part of that learning process has been the use of a couple of what I'll call "Artist's Books."
Artist's Books include sketchbooks, visual journals and idea books and lots of artists use them as a tool to develop their skills and keep track of their ideas. I actually keep three different Artists' Books which I think generally correspond to the most common types of these books - a sketchbook/idea book that I carry in my purse (I use a Moleskine and I highly recommend them!), an idea/inspiration journal, and a visual journal that's more like a diary. Each one serves a unique purpose.
My sketchbook/idea book is a great place to jot down ideas or information like website addresses and it's also the place that I sketch out layouts or work on my drawing skills when I have some spare time. Practice definitely makes perfect when it comes to artwork and I find that having a little sketchbook with me at all times dramatically increases the opportunities I have to try out my layout ideas on paper or to try a few doodles. Plus, sketching things out can really help you flesh out an idea and see how it will work out! For example, I love these sketches by Elsie Flannigan!
My inspiration book is more like a very unstructured collage - I tear out magazine clippings, fabric swatches, paint chips, or anything else that I find visually inspiring and paste it in. Then when I'm short on ideas or inspiration I flip through it and I never fail to find something that sparks a fresh thought. Our very talented designers Emily Powers and Amber Clegg keep these kind of books too!
Finally, my visual journal serves as a diary of sorts - it's a no-pressure collage kind of format - sometimes there's lots of writing, other times it's all pictures, but I always just go with the flow of what I'm feeling that day - no judgments about how good or bad it is at all! It's not meant for anyone else to see, so it's easy for me to let go, try new things and just get creative!
Lots of other artists use books like this too - if you google "visual journal" or "artist sketchbook" you'll come up with lots of great how-tos and sharing groups for this type of thing. Here's a few of my favorites:
The Sketchbook Habit - 5 artists tell why sketching is key to improving your art
Visual Journaling - Student artists share their visual journals
Sketchbooks by Kristin A. Freeman
There's also a lot of great books on this topic, especially on visual journaling. My favorites by far are by Lynne Parella! But, I also really enjoyed Visual Chronicles. And, Scrapartist has lots of great resources too! Robyn and Christine's Altered Challenge is always a great source of inspiration for visual journaling! Our Lisa Cohen's blog is also a great resource - right now she's attending Art & Soul and is sharing lots of great photos and ideas from there - I also love this mini-album she created last fall - I think it would be great for an inspiration journal! You can pick up the Vintage Map Cards she used for it in the Shoppe. Plus, we'll be bringing you more on this subject - including ideas and techniques - in coming weeks.
Whatever format you choose to use for your Artist's Book - sketchbook, inspiration book or visual journal - I'd encourage you to free your creative side by starting one up! And, if you want to share your work, we'd love to see how you use your Book in the gallery! You can post to the Outside the Box gallery and link us up in the forum here. Happy creating!
WOW! I used to have this kind of books when I was a teenager! I should start a new book to collect ideas for my scrapping nights. Thanks for the tip Lisa!!
Posted by:Emilie | May 09, 2007 at 06:05 PM