Start a Sketchbook

A playful workshop for filling the blank pages and finding your creative voice

Have you ever bought a beautiful sketchbook… and then been too scared to actually use it?

Or found yourself wondering what you’re supposed to put in it?

In Start a Sketchbook, we’ll throw those rules out the window.

This is a relaxed, playful workshop about turning your sketchbook into a place to experiment, collect ideas, play with colour, make mistakes and discover your own visual language.

Rather than teaching you how to draw perfectly, we’ll explore all the different things a sketchbook can be: a drawing journal, colour laboratory, idea dump, visual diary, collection of inspiration and playground for your creativity.

We’ll work through a series of fun exercises designed to get you making marks straight away, including:

• Quick and playful drawing exercises
• Colour and paint experiments
• Turning everyday observations into creative ideas
• Collage, texture and collecting
• Developing your own visual motifs and symbols
• Taking a tiny sketch or idea and developing it further
• Creating pages that feel personal rather than “perfect”

I’ll also share some of the ways I use my own sketchbooks to develop artwork, collect ideas and experiment before they become finished pieces.

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have a sketchbook that’s already yours filled with experiments, ideas and possibilities rather than pristine blank pages.

No drawing experience required.

Come ready to make a mess, follow a few creative rabbit holes and give yourself permission to play.