It is quite obvious that my place is filled with paper. You will find sketches, painted motifs, large sheets with artwork everywhere. Some of the artwork that I have been working on, is up on the wall. Some are works in progress, and some need an extra dose of inspiration. And some prints are finished and for me to enjoy.
It is limited to a few places on the wall, and though it might be a bit busy, the wall doesn’t feel cluttered to me. The problem is not with these papers, the problem is with all the other paper sheets that are lying around.
There is the obvious pile of sketches on both my desks, and there are quite a few boxes filled with sketches and art work. And during some days, even a part of the ground is covered with painted sketches and things that need to dry. In some ways, I do like to think that the papers are in some ways organised to me. But to be honest, theses stacks aren’t organised at all.
And then there is this thing that is nagging for years: I should be working in sketchbooks. It is such a smarter way to work. Everything is all kept together in a little or large book. Keeping ideas together and even chronological, all in one place. You can put the sketchbooks in a book case, giving one a proud feeling of accomplishments once you see the collection of these books growing. And, I have to admit, they are way less messy than loose sheets of paper.
So I do understand the advantages of using sketchbooks. And I have tried working in them but often it stiffles my creativity, being afraid to mess up a beautiful sketchbook. Or, more often, the sketchbook isn’t large enough. Working on a large sheet of paper gives me much more freedom. Another problem I feel is when using different media like pencil, markers, watercolours and gouache. All these media perform better on their own kind of paper. This means that I keep on buying different sketchbooks and occasionally draw or paint in them.
Apart from keeping your artwork together, my design heroe Zandra Rhodes mentioned in an interview, how important sketchbooks are. She was quite frank about it and said that everything that you draw should be saved. That even a ‘bad’ sketch or mistakes should not be ripped out. Facing your mistakes is a way to learn and help you to create better art.
Zandra Rhodes is an amazing designer, and in her book “The art of Zandra Rhodes” she shares her sketches, her editing process, the final prints and the printed fabric sewn into her amazing dresses. This book is such a good read as well for any designer as you can follow her process of working as she explains her trail of thoughts.
Zandra has kept complete archives of her drawings and prints. In 2003 she founded the Fashion and Textile Museum in Bermondsey, south-east London which contains her collections. So I guess that she was running out of space as well?
How do you like to work? Do you use sketchbooks all the time? Or do you prefer the freedom of working on sheets of paper?
And how do you organise your work? I wonder if there is a better way that stashing them in boxes or have them just lying around. I would love to hear from you.
IMAGES
Top image: my own sketchbooksSecond image: Photograph taken of the book “The art of Zandra Rhodes” by Zandra Rhodes and Anne Knight
colourbookstudio 