After my big introduction to sketchbook journaling on Monday morning, I started them off by having them draw their art supplies...
Susan sketched her mom's lunchbox. The beautiful antique metal box was challenging to draw and paint, but she persevered and did a great job of it.
Beka took a slightly different tack. She brought a buddy along to paint...
and designed a page that said "Kermey makes every 1 smile". So do you, Beka!
Look at the wonderful page layout on this sketch of a medallion/ornament from a summer in the Tetons...
Candy collects vintage buttons, so she designed a sketechbook page around them...
And Danielle drew a toy from her childhood...
We speed-sketched penny candy on day two of the workshop...
and the class illustrated some of their favorite quotes...
On Wednesday, we took a breather from journaling to spend the day working on a few step-by-step watercolor lessons. The students painted skies...
rocks...
and summer trees....
I also showed them how to add simple figures to their sketches with just a few strokes. Liz loved how easy these little people were to paint, and she created a whole little world of whacky paint people...
Thursday, we were back to sketchbook journaling again. Early in the week, I provided them with specific guidelines and instructions for their projects, but as they gained experience, I gave them more responsibility for choosing what they wanted to sketch and how they wanted to do it. I interspersed lessons throughout each day on borders, calligraphy styles and page layouts ideas, and they happily embraced it all.
I always give my students a substantial class handout, and they love it. It's reassuring to have all the information from the workshop at their fingertips, to review later whenever they like. But I have one little problem...my handouts keep getting longer and longer. The handout for this class was sixty-two pages! I think I have a book in the making! :)
It was a lot of information for them to process, and it may have felt overwhelming to them at times, but each one of them handled it with positivity and a willingness to try. I love a positive attitude!
Because one of the serial numbers is missing from the bill, it's worth about as much as the part that Poppi ate. What better use for it than as part of Carollee's sketchbook? Oh, Poppi......you couldn't have had a craving for a one or a five?
Check out the gorgeous fabric Annie painted in this sketch of her purse ...
One of my favorite projects of the week was when everyone illustrated one of their favorite recipes. It made me hungry just looking at all the wonderful homemade food and recipes that appeared on the students' sketchbook pages.
There was one more project that everyone worked on throughout the week. On Monday, I gave them an assignment to do a page in their journals all about their week at Cheap Joe's. The catch was that I would not be giving them a chunk of time in class to do the sketches. Instead, they had to figure out how to fit it into odd moments here and there, just like we have to do in real life!
They all turned out just great, and a few of them even included a portrait of me!
My van license plate made it into the sketch, too! |
This one uses collaged images from the Cheap Joe's catalogue...
and this beautiful page by Cheryl features a nice gridded layout with a sketch of her class name tag in the center circle...
There were so many more amazing sketchbook pages. I wish I could share them all with you. It delights me to no end to see how each of these women took what I taught them, added their life experiences, originality, and humor, and created something wonderful. They all worked hard and were so earnest in their efforts during our time together, but we also had an awful lot of fun!
Sketchbook journaling has touched a chord in people. In this crazy, mixed up world, we've found a way to quiet the noise and focus on what's important - to celebrate the everyday - to tell our own unique story.
The little things? The little moments?
They aren't little.
Jon Kabat-Zinn
PS - My friends at Cheap Joe's have invited me back to teach again in 2018. I'll be doing two five-day workshops:
May 7-11, 2018 Sketchbook Journaling Comes to Life!
August 13-17, 2018 Step-by-Step Watercolor
(Registration for these workshops won't open until January 1, 2017, but I wanted to give you a heads-up on the dates.)