Transferring my thoughts and ideas into a sketchbook has always been challenging for me, as I tend to work most productively on impulse. The first page of a sketchbook usually proves to be an obstacle; there is always the pressure of creating an exciting and inspiring introduction to the following pages. On this occasion I decided to include a mind map of any provisional thoughts I had on the topic, to help stimulate more ideas for research and drawings later. I find this process helpful when or if my ideas run dry.
I always think that a sketchbook is quite intimate and personal, so the sketchbook session on Thursday was initially quite daunting. Despite this I actually found the session enlightening and thought provoking. I have now realised that my book does not show how I have developed my ideas, and there doesn’t seem to be any fluidity documenting the start of my sketchbook to the end. I have little contextual references and my ideas do not flow as well as I had hoped.
Since my initial large scale drawing task I have struggled less, and consequently benefited from certain ideas generated during its creation process. The notable change in my work has occurred during this phase, and a pattern is emerging on account of this. I have developed more ideas after the drawing task than I have throughout the whole unit, and I think that this was the push I needed at the start.
My project is comprised of two books containing various ideas; one being purely visual and the other full of notes and scribbles. This method is definitely constructive, helping me to juggle ideas and find an interesting route to go down; however when we had the sketchbook session last week, not many people saw the two books together; therefore the process appeared incomplete. The two books are inseparable when clearly presenting the extent of ideas. This has been my biggest downfall in the project, and next time I will combine the notes and visual imagery into one sketchbook, showing my methodology and thought processes more clearly, hopefully making it easier to follow.
Other areas of improvement could be made to my contextual references included in the sketchbook. Reviewing my sketchbook, although you can see the photographs and my location drawing, I could have precisely annotated and scribbled down some quick notes from the source, so that viewers could see where my thoughts have been generated.
During the feedback process I was given positive comments, which I will embrace and attempt to strengthen appropriately, however comparing my work against other sketchbooks has illuminated my strengths and weaknesses, and turned out to be a most worthwhile activity. I will be continuously reflecting on the unique and creative ways that others have presented their work and will bear those methods in mind when presenting future sketchbooks.
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