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Thursday 30 January 2014

Glee and Creativity

Hi there!
When I was first starting my sketchbook, the empty
pages felt dreadfully intimidating. So, I made
myself wipe my paint brushes on this page. Before I
knew it, I had all these layers of colourful paint!
So, lately I've been contemplating my sense of creativity. You know, my imagination!

I mean, I've always been creatively orientated and pride myself on having kept my imagination somewhat intact over the years but, ever since college started…I realized that as important creativity is to interior designers, it's just not cultivated enough in college! The profs want us to be artsy and weird but there's barely any room left for that! What, with all the time spent drafting straight, carefully calculated lines, we barely have any time to colour outside the lines!!

And I think this sort of thing is something a lot of people can relate to! I've heard everyone from high school freshmen to 30-something office workers complain about how unimaginative and "unartsy" their lives have become! For most of us, life seems to inhibit our creativity as we go on in it!


My sketchbook cover was accidental. I was planning
on painting something with acrylic paint but
after the first coat, I realized it wouldn't stick. I
scratched at it with irritation but realized it actually
looked like branches. VoilĂ !

I've been looking back on my last year in high school, where art classes and social sciences filled my days! I often love to reflect on how art helped me discipline my mind to free itself (makes sense, eh?) but that is a long post for the future!


For now, I'd love to introduce you to my most prized possession—a manifestation of my mind and soul. It is my sketchbook from last year! Before you scroll down, I just want to explain myself. While I loved sharing my sketchbook with some people, it made me highly uncomfortable to have anyone say "I wish I could draw" or even worse, "I wish I was creative". Because the honest answer is yes, you can and yes, you are! It's something that is cultivated. Something to be nurtured and promoted, making it handy to have a sketchbook! My own sketchbook became my #1 accessory and really, a sort of scrapbook. This is something I want to bring back into my life and hopefully inspire others to embrace or share this habit as well! I hope you can look closely at a page or two and realize that there was no greater plan.


Nothing impressive. Just brain regurgitation. No filter. No fear. No judgment. 
That's what makes the perfect sketchbook.


A sort of scrapbook of my visit to Disney World, last March. (Yes, those are crayons melted there!—used a candle). 
A very beautiful ad for Elte rugs! In the background (right) I wrote stories about the
people I imagined owning each rug, and lyrics to Wild Horses (left).
On the left, some brainstorming for an assignment. Right…not sure. Just cursive writing!
Completely random, idle thoughts. And a swatch of whites I mixed up. Idly.
My attempt at what I thought was a "proper" sketchbook page. 
A page coloured in completely with old cosmetics!! (Nail polish, makeup
pencils, powders, etc.). Totally recommended!
Some napkins I doodled on at a boring, loud party. Embroidery done for school.
Some dresses copied out of Kate Spade's amazing book, Style.
A random page of working out dreams, assignments and friends :)
Remnant of my summer obsession with pirates! These are the lyrics to my fave
pirate song, Hoist the Colours.
So, there you have it! Some of my favourite pages from my crazy sketchbook (which actually burst from all the stuff I put in there!)

I hope someone out there finds it inspirational and realizes how sketchbooks are really just unguarded thoughts and ideas put down. A record of life.

Also, I'd like to end this post by saying:


Hugs and Stuff,
Sabbie!

P.S. I will totally share my new sketchbook as I develop it. Hey, I want to practice what I preach by making time for art, again!

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