Exercise 5.3

Constructing a visual journal

The brief for this task was to create a journal that documented my journey through this Sketchbooks course. I liked the term ‘memory store’; it had to be a space where the activities that I most enjoyed and were the most important to me were assembled into one book.

I began this task by methodically looking through the images I had from Part 5’s reflective tasks, the collections and my notes. I picked out the exercises that I thought served best as landmarks of my journey through the course.

One of the processes I have most enjoyed – and something I wish to explore further – is bookmaking. I spent some time browsing various binding techniques. In my mind, I was picturing separate pages with images pasted on, and then bringing these together. Eventually, I settled on single sheet binding, as I thought this would give me the most flexibility in creating individual pages as I wished, without worrying about how many there would be, and then assembling them once I had finished. I used the tutorial below by Sea Lemon (published July 18th 2014 – accessed 22/05/20) to guide me.

The process of creating each page was thoroughly enjoyable. I felt quite a sense of accomplishment watching ‘my journey’ come together page by page. I used A4 sheets of white card, then personalised each page to suit the task I was describing. I decided that to treat the book as a ‘start to finish’ journey made the most sense to me, so I began with Part 1 and ended with Part 4, then a page about my future goals and targets, based on my reflections so far in Part 5.

I had typed up some tutor comments for each assignment, and included these on the relevant assignment page, then wrote some targets she had set by hand, because I felt this symbolised how I had to own these targets and work with them. I also typed up some key words my tutor used to describe my work in each part; I used different type to match the meaning of the word as best I could. These singular words are included at the start of each part. They add a little character to the page and summarise my achievements in each stage of the course.

When binding the pages, I had to measure 3 holes 2cm apart at the top and bottom of the pages, then use a Coptic stitch style to bind each individual page. I had six needles and six pieces of waxed thread on the go all at once! There were moments where knots and tangles became stressful, but the resulting effect is beautiful. In hindsight, there are a couple of changes I would make. There was an optional step in the tutorial to tape the sides of the pages, to provide more reinforcement. I did not have tape thick enough to cover, and I also worried how this would affect the book aesthetically. However, the pages easily ripped if I tightened the stitch too much, so I should have reinforced them. Also, it was a long process, to individually bind each page; it did suit the project, but it is not a method to choose if you are working under time pressure.

Below is the final sketchbook! I am extremely proud of this as it was a time-consuming task, but totally worth the effort. The brief specified that the book should ‘feel like my own’, and I definitely feel this is the case. I tried to showcase lots of media and colour, while commenting on my journey throughout. I thought about text placement, especially with the words from my tutor, and how these would sit on the page, and I also enjoyed adding ‘hidden’ elements, like folded pieces and tabs to pull. It was a lot of fun, a space to be really creative and not worry about perfection.

It also highlighted the targets I want to work on going forward. I got the opportunity to try another bookbinding technique here. I used lots of colour. On some pages, I had no idea how I wanted it to turn out, so I experimented, sometimes using unpredictable techniques with paint (I also managed to use a toothbrush again to paint inside this book!) I played around with type. All these targets are important to take forward into the final assignment and beyond.