I’ve not set out to exhibit much of my work over the last few months.

Instead, I’ve holed myself up in the studio, working on my sketchbook for the ‘Hello Future’ Talents’ Archive curated by Double Decker in London and the Onassis Cultural Centre in Greece.

I’ve not used a sketchbook since I finished my MA back in 2013 (apart from a little moleskine to take notes in) and now that I’ve almost filled this one, I regret not using one in such a long time.

The thing is with sketchbooks, they’re used so much for ticking boxes at university – showing your idea development, your experimentation, how you came to a conclusion about a piece – that when I was finally out of the institution I put them aside and thought I wouldn’t need one again. Especially because of this thing, the darn computer. Instead of endlessly photocopying everything in sight, as I did at uni, I turned to blogging images and ideas instead of putting them down on paper.

This was a mistake.

My ideas have progressed so much further having been able to get them printed out, glued in, drawn upon. I even used paint for the first time in god knows how long. I might not have access to a good, cheap photocopier anymore (which is a shame) but it feels good to have something real and tactile to hold and add things to.

So if I have to resolve one thing for 2015 it is definitely always use a sketchbook.

 

Originally written for http://mollyrooke.wordpress.com 

 

 


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