Sketchbook

stories
Take your first step towards creating work that matters
by sharing in the processes, techniques and studio
secrets of ten mixed media Textile and Fiber artists

An e-book by
TextileArtist.org
Introduction
Sketchbooks are personal. If a group of artists were to follow the same set exercise
as a way of developing an idea in their sketchbooks, the page or pages they
created wouldn’t look at all alike. As artists you can’t help but express yourself
uniquely. And the sketchbook is the perfect place to develop that unique voice,
experimenting with new ideas, colour combinations, materials and tools.
Sketchbook Stories explores how 10 influential contemporary textile artists use their
sketchbooks and why this is a cherished part of their process.
Joe and Sam Pitcher

Sketchbook stories Cover image by Lynne Butt An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Bren Boardman – Mind map for exhibition plan An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Bren Boardman – Mind map from sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Bren Boardman
My studio shelves are filled with my many sketchbooks of all shapes and sizes,
that span over 15 years of my ideas, some developed, some random – combining
photos, lists, drawings, postcards, scraps of samples, and other paraphanalia.
I have always urged students to help their own creative process by working in
sketchbooks, journals, scrapbooks, diaries, call them whatever you want, but to use
them as an important place to gather any visual research and thoughts. Sketchbooks
are often art projects in themselves, or can be the stepping stone to further
development in any media you choose.
Just as with athletes developing muscle in training, artists develop confidence and
ideas through practice in using their sketchbook to test paints, draw ideas, jot down
thoughts, stitch random samples… these are all practice to help build “artistic muscle”
or “mileage on the pencil”!
So, when I appear to produce a picture without back-up work, this is unlikely to be
the case. If you were to watch me draw a flower onto a background fabric, then you
were to delve into some of my sketchbooks, you would be sure to find similar colour
combinations, flower drawing or stitching method. We do not come to this without
some practice and a sketchbook is a form of organising this process.

Sketchbook stories Bren Boardman An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

When I start a new sketchbook I try to reserve the first two facing pages to produce a
mindmap so I can keep referring back to my notes and ideas during the project.

“Just as with athletes developing muscle in training,

artists develop confidence and ideas through practice
in using their sketchbook”

If, like me, your head is full of ideas for a project and you dont know where to start,
then consider adopting this practice and using the first page of your sketchbook to
draw a mindmap. A mindmap is a diagram starting in the centre of a blank page where
you write a key word or phrase. From this central “idea” you can draw branches and
sub-branches to write associated words, ideas and even images that all relate to your
main idea. Since the brain doesn’t usually think in list fashion, but randomly, then the
shape of this tree-like structure can help aid your creativity and serve as a dumping
place during the project process.
www.brenboardman.com

Sketchbook stories Bren Boardman An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Lynne Butt – Sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Lynne Butt – Sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Lynne Butt
My sketchbooks are very special to me, they are works of art that can can be held,
and felt and smelt!
They are never finished, I can go on changing them, adding to them or taking bits
away. The whole book can be taken apart, rearranged and put back together in a
different order or the pages can be incorporated into another book or even stuck
together. Sometimes I can spend more time on my sketchbooks than on the finished
piece of work! They contain ideas and reminders and lots of excitement.
I like to work on different types of paper, and often put a coloured wash over pages,
I paste in scraps of paper to add texture to drawings, I like to use charcoal and pastels
for drawing so that I can smudge them (it’s a bit messy though, especially when
you’re out and about). I tear the edges of the pages and then carefully paint along the
torn edge (giving an aged effect), layers of pages with torn edges are wonderful and
I often photograph these sections using a macro lens which gives lovely blurred out
of focus edges.
I am now experimenting with a sketching app on my iPad. It is amazing and very
different, I am having a lot of fun with it (and fingers stay clean!). I like the idea of
taking photographs with the iPad and then working into them. The possibilities are
endless, but it could never take the place of something that is so tactile, the feel of
the cover and the immense variety of paper, paint, ink, glue and any number of
‘found’ objects that find their way into a sketchbook.
www.phoenixcontemporarytextiles.com/lynne_butt

Sketchbook stories Lynne Butt An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Jette Clover – Metropolis 1 (detail) An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Jette Clover – Words 1 (left) & Winter Wall (right) An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Jette Clover
I have a general idea in mind and collect a pile of possible materials and start pinning
pieces on my design wall until it feels right. I respond directly to the materials. If I had
to plan out an idea first, I wouldn’t be interested in making the piece. I am a hands-on
person, and I like the handling of materials and making spontaneous decisions about
what works. The collage medium is ideal for me.
For several years I have been starting my day by making a small paper collage, spending
about 1/2 hour with myself and my materials and training my hand-eye co-ordination.
I feel this daily routine has increased my confidence in making compositions based on
my intuition. And this way of working, following my intuition, I then take with me when
working on bigger pieces.

“For several years I have been starting my day by making a

small paper collage, spending about 1/2 hour with myself
and my materials and training my hand-eye co-ordination.”

I also have a stack of note-books with a collection of images and writing. I try to organise
them by subject matter, eg. street signs, graffiti, textures, collage, individual colours, etc. but
with no luck. Too much overlapping. These books are my collected memories. They are really
me ‘talking to myself’ about my thoughts, ideas and inspirations, and I can spend hours or a
whole day just looking through them.
www.jetteclover.com
Sketchbook stories Jette Clover An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Siân Martin – Notebook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Siân Martin
Thinking, research, thinking, making notes, sketch drawings, more thinking,
exploratory drawings – yes on paper, to get the ‘thinking’ out of my head and in
front of my eyes so I can do more thinking and writing of notes!
I have got into the habit recently of working initially into a tiny note book, then onto
bigger sheets of paper. I spread a selection of these onto a large whole-wall pin board
along with previously made drawings and samples that seem to make a connection
with the new ideas. My father always said you only do one piece of work in your life
time – just fine tuning and developing it over the years. As you do about the wise words
from a parent, I used to think that was ridiculous – but not now as I’m finding a more
consistent story that I am enjoying. So I can see value in the recurring thought and I
start a new piece of work by re-building, removing, and adding to my pin board wall
with a collection that I feel will trigger the first thinking stages of a new piece of work.
I am currently working in a very small sketchbook as I find it easy to carry around with
me and has an immediacy of recording fleeting ideas – quick marks and notes that
occur without it turning into an art book. When wishing to take some of these marks
forward, I turn to much larger sheets of paper that give me the freedom to enjoy the
physical act of drawing, using a range of drawing media, although my favourite is a
bottle of black ink and a selection of drawing ‘tools’ like sticks, a candle and large paint
brushes. These larger drawings are stored in a plan chest drawer or portfolio – with
a few selected pieces finding their way onto the wall to take me onwards to the next
stage of thinking and playing.
www.distantstitch.co.uk
Sketchbook stories Siân Martin An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Carolyn Saxby – Sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Carolyn Saxby – Sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Carolyn Saxby
I consider myself to be pretty much self taught. I have always worked my way
through experimenting with techniques found in books and magazines and stuff
I stuck in my sketchbooks.
Really, I consider my books are not so much sketchbooks but rather are gathering books.
Everything gets glued in and a visit to an art exhibition may inspire a splash of colour
with my paints or small stitched samples … a line of stitches or a textured fabric glued in.
I experimented with these mood books for a long time before I consider I became an
artist … perhaps I was always an artist … are we not all artists just expressing our feelings
in different ways in life?

“Really, I consider my books are not so much sketchbooks

but rather are gathering books.”

I did a whole project on just the blue/grey pebbles with lines of quartz running through
them … pursuing this topic in many different media.
… another sketchbook focused completely on the fishing paraphernalia found on
Smeaton’s Pier for instance.
carolynsaxby.blogspot.com

Sketchbook stories Carolyn Saxby An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Cas Holmes – Sketchbooks An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Cas Holmes – Sketches An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Cas Holmes
Developing your artistic narrative is an individual journey. There is no short cut or easy
way. I spend considerable time thinking through ideas and developing the processes
behind them, both as an artist and a teacher. Why do I consider the act of drawings and
keeping a record is important?
• Your own references are important because you have been there
• You build your own relationship to the experience; the places you have been, the objects
you see, as part of the act of making a record
• You train your eye and stop to look as part of an investigative approach
• Your own drawing, notes and photographs act as a memory prompt
Make notes as you go either directly on the material or page. Keep them in a binder or
sketchbook ‘journalling’ your thoughts about what inspires you (peeling walls, patterns from
a building, flora). Learn all the techniques that interest you but don’t be afraid to experiment
with processes, adapt them and make mistakes. These failed ‘experiments’ are time well
spent. Work without fear, it will take time but constantly referencing what is around you,
combined with practice, helps to inform your work, develops your subject and leads to the
development of your ideas.
www.casholmestextiles.co.uk

Sketchbook stories Cas Holmes An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Linda Colsh
I use a variety of workbooks; many are simply collections of images or notes about
things that I find inspiring or want to just not forget. These are very non-linear
recordings of all sorts of things, not just ideas or thoughts about things. Photos,
postcards, clippings and ephemera, my sketches, writing and drawings, quick collages.
My workbooks are also a way to keep hands and mind active in downtimes, time when
I am not actually involved in the making of an artwork. These workbooks are the place
where I begin, where I try out, flesh out, modify and even abandon when things don’t
come together; a place where I don’t have to finish; or a place that provides the point of
going into the studio. Some things do get lost, especially in the older workbooks, but ideas
stand a greater chance of being lost for good if they aren’t noted in image or writing at all.
I need to take more time to read the old workbooks to rekindle.
I have workbooks where I record words or phrases; I think of these as my “titles
workbooks” because the words & phrases sometimes percolate to become the titles of
my artworks. I really care that my titles are part of my artworks – kind of like finishing
the edges of a piece or applying the hanging sleeves or stitching the label on the back.
So, I spend time to think about the title and make it illuminating. Sometimes, a piece
will have a title before the work is even begun; other times, the title isn’t settled until
the last moment.

Sketchbook stories Linda Colsh An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Also, I have my technical workbooks. These are full of rather dry pages of the puzzle-
working of numbers, calculations and rough lines, squares and rectangles that are my
construction diagrams for piecing – the patchworking. I have a master construction
workbook that records the size-numbers I need to work to for the various formats I
work to.

“My workbooks are also a way to keep hands and mind

active in downtimes, time when I am not actually
involved in the making of an artwork. ”

A number of years ago, I decided to work to some standard sizes & shapes for
presentation reasons (1-meter & 1-1/2 meter squares; tall, narrow rectangles and less
strictly sized horizontal rectangles; & some small format work, which are the bread and
butter sizes). To work this way requires more planning and repeatable planning (pieces
don’t just grow to whatever they become); thus, the master construction workbook.
www.lindacolsh.com

Sketchbook stories Linda Colsh An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Shona Skinner – Sketchbook An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org
Shona Skinner
I have several sketchbooks on the go. I have recently been running workshops for the
Shetland Embroiderers entitled ‘Sketching to Stitching’.
This was to encourage the group to work from their own drawings and then to develop
them into free-machine embroidered pieces. Some of the ladies had not sketched since they
were at school and they all seemed delighted with their results. I think I have converted
many of them to keeping a sketchbook on the go!

“I put all my samples into this little book and it has become
my bible of techniques that I am constantly referring back to.”

I have one particular sketchbook which I would be be very sorry to lose. When I was
teaching the A Level Textile course I put all my samples into this little book and it has
become my bible of techniques that I am constantly referring back to. I also make fabric
books full of experimental pieces using ripped fabrics, which are reconstructed and then
stitched, burned, beaded, etc.
www.shonaskinner.com

Sketchbook stories Shona Skinner An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Jan Beaney
A sketchbook is the essential start to any work. In most cases, I make a rough
painting to scale in order to sort the composition before starting the textile.
Building up the surface with dye, print and fabrics often precede hand stitch and
machine work. Working with soluble film entails fabrics and threads being placed
before the machining. I like working in my studio with little distraction so I can
give the piece the necessary concentration.

“A sketchbook is the essential start to any work.”

I would be lost without sketchbooks, both for recording observations and

developing ideas. Nothing happens without visual research.
doubletrouble-ent.com

Sketchbook stories Jan Beaney An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org

Corinne Young
I am a prolific user of sketchbooks, and have several. The ones I keep for ‘best’ are
quite precious and consist of pictures gathered from various sources, along with tidy
detailed sketches.

“I am a prolific user of sketchbooks, and have several.”

I then have another working one for quick sketches which I use on a daily basis, and a
box for samples – very important to work out any problems before embarking on a full
scale work. My old sketchbooks are usually the first thing I refer to when researching for
a new piece of work.
www.corinneyoungtextiles.co.uk

Sketchbook stories Corinne Young An e-book by www.TextileArtist.org