Stage 4 - Working from your sketchbooks

Q. Have you ever thought about drawing in this way before?

A. No, never. I've always doodled, faces or animals or even just lines or shapes but never given any thought to drawing in this way.

Q. Were you able to be inventive about the range of marks you made?

A. At the beginning I found it quite difficult to be imaginative. I was constrained in my previous way of thinking that in order to convey a meaning, an expression or an emotion that I had to draw an image i.e Happy = a smiley face or similar. To try to draw lines or shapes that adequately described those words was a real challenge for me. I did find it easier to do by the time I got to the second attempt and I had at least stopped worrying if I was doing it correctly.

Q. Did you explore a wide range of media?

A. I would like to think I did. I definitely used a lot more than I am used to. When I draw, it's with a pencil or a pen and when I paint it's usually with acrylics and brushes. Over the couple of days that I spent on the initial exercises I found myself using chalks, pastels, watercolours on a variety of different papers and surfaces.

Working from my own sketches

Q. Are you pleased with what you have done? Will it help you to approach drawing more confidently.

A. To begin with, I found myself quite disappointed with what I was producing. I have been so boxed in with the literal thinking of trying to draw things as I see them, rather than trying to convey meaning with brush or pencil strokes that it was hard for me to look at my work and be pleased. I was definitely happier with the results when I was able to use colour and textures, rather than just the pencil on paper method. That said, I have gone back to review my earlier pieces and I actually feel happier with that work. I needed to walk away and then look at them with a fresh pair of eyes. It made a huge difference. Even in the few sketches that I have done since I started the Making Marks exercise, I can see real progress and a definite change to the way I draw. I feel more freedom now. Before, I was so intent on getting down a true representation of an object that it almost blocked any personal style from developing. Now, I feel that I'm allowing my imagination more of a free rein.

Q. Which exercise did you most enjoy? Why?

A. Definitely the 'Making Marks to create Surface textures' exercise. I love art and there are so many artists that I admire, from many different styles. To be able to take one of their works of art and try to recreate a small section of it but giving it an almost different look was really enjoyable for me. It was interesting as well, to look at patterns in the images and try to turn that lock of hair or the petals on a flower into a texture.

Q. Which media do you most enjoy? Why?

A. I'm torn here between paper & pencil or acrylic paints. I like using the various grades of pencil to create light and dark, depth and body. I was always a smudger at school. I tried to avoid using the pencil to shade, preferring instead to use the lazy option of just rubbing it with my finger. In recent years I've become a little more adept at using the pencil properly and I'm pleased that I have. As for acrylics, I have always loved using them. I prefer them to be almost 'neat' and to use a large brush or a palette knife because I love the richness of the colours and also the texture and body that seems to be created by moving the paint around with the knife.

Q.What other forms of mark-making could you try?

A. I'm going to try some collage work and also the bleaching as well. I also like the idea of making stamps to give a uniform look to the images.

Working from my own sketches

Q. How will these exercises enrich your textile work in the future?

A. I think they have opened my mind to doing things very differently especially with a view to my own designs. I love to sew but I've always used ready made patterns and charts or found a picture I have liked and then used a program on the computer to make the chart. After working from my own sketches, taking sections of the image and 'making marks' it has made me see that even the most basic of doodles can become something interesting and in some cases beautiful. I'm also looking at everything differently. If I'm in the bath, I will look at the bathroom door and see lines and curves in the grain of the wood that I never noticed before. When I see photos in the newspaper, whether it's a landscape or a city skyline, my mind starts to tick over and I will almost 'zoom' in on a particular area and dissect it in my head, break the image apart and try to imagine what those areas will look like. I'm so excited now to try this out with my sewing and see what I am capable of.