To hide or not to hide?
Art, to me, is a way of expressing myself; whether that is being inspired by the world around me – artists, media (film, books, music) or the relationships and connections I form with other people – or simply revealing my emotional state on a page using images and words. Art is usually emotional, or driven by emotion, even if it does not come across this way to the viewer. I want my sketchbook to be a space where I do not feel restricted and I can allow any ideas, thoughts or feelings to flow freely.
It was fascinating to explore ways I could disguise, cover or hide the more personal aspects of my sketchbooks. The initial state should be raw and open, but I can definitely see the appeal of hiding some words or images; you have released the feelings and thoughts, but they cannot necessarily be seen by everyone. You still know they are there though; like a secret.
I used the pins on the starter Pinterest board link provided to explore ways I could hide parts of my sketchbooks. I jotted down ideas in my handmade sketchbook and started to doodle some plans.
These doodles were based on the existing structures of the four mini books I created. I started trying out some of the ideas in 3D using the practise books I had made with plain white A4 paper. Below, I have broadly categorised them, but this process was very experimental; I tried lots of ideas and took photographs of each one. I particularly enjoyed cutting and folding and sticking pages to alter the structure and hide text. The writing in these practise books did not necessarily need to be hidden, but it was a good way of trying out the concepts.
Layers and windows
Envelopes and pockets
Cutting and folding pages
Adding elements
Altering my four mini sketchbooks
Below are images of my four miniature sketchbooks with their alterations. I did not use every idea; I selected a few and made changes to my original sketchbooks in terms of mark-making and text. Using extracts from my personal journal, I introduced some elements that I wanted to disguise in some way.
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After trialling these ‘hiding’ strategies, I definitely want to use some again. I especially enjoyed sticking parts of pages together and cutting parts to create odd little folds and pockets. It makes the sketchbook seem even more personal and unique; whether it is trying to cover up a ‘mistake’ or something more secretive. I would argue that this adds to the style of the sketchbook and reveals more about the artist creating it (even if they cover lots of information).
Jade's OCA Learning Log 