ARED 2110: Sketchbooks

Making sketchbooks meaningful is a very important yet challenging aspect of the art classroom.

Sketchbooks play such a crucial role in not only artist devolvement but also child development in general. Sketching allows provides a low stakes place to make artistic choices while also allowing time to reflect on thoughts. (Thompson, 1995) One of the purposes of a sketchbook is to experiment with ideas, which is a beautiful thing in the art classroom because it seems that so many art teachers especially at the elementary level expect students to jump right into a major project without giving them the time needed to gather ideas and explore materials. I think this is so common because of the rigorous agenda of schools, and the notion a successful class ends by having completed something. Another reason that trial sketching may not be included in the elementary curriculum is because of the supplies it demands, while not contributing directly to the final production. Though it undoubtedly contributes indirectly to ideas being further developed and mastery of material, at the end of class students may throw away or not return to their original sketches deeming them wasteful in some eyes.

Another use for sketchbooks in the elementary classroom is just for free or voluntary drawings which are "made in response to adult request but the topic is chosen by children." (Thompson, 1995, p.7). We are quick to look past a typical drawing of a house with kids playing in the front yard and urge children to create art about bigger motifs and big ideas. Big ideas and using art to address current issues is important but not every artwork produced must relate. I think it is important to allow kids to explore and create what they please because that can lead to personal inquiries.(Thompson, 1995) What Should I Draw Today (1995, p. 9) also argues that "self initiated projects are more ambitious and engrossing than assigned lessons."

I think a lot of teachers fail when it comes to applying sketchbooks to the classroom because the kids are not interested from the beginning, teachers do not follow through with making sketchbooks a part of the classroom everyday, and many other reasons. I recently listened to a podcast on the Art Ed Radio: A Podcast for Art Teachers titled Making Sketchbooks Meaningful in the podcast they addressed how to solve some of these common sketchbook issues which I think fit directly with this blog.

First, it is important to get students attached to their sketchbooks. It seems that the best way to do this is to have them make the sketchbook. I personally can relate to this idea from this class because I feel much more attached to the journals we made at the beginning of the year than I do my sketchbook for color and composition which I picked up from a hobby lobby shelf. There is something about being invested in a sketchbook that makes you want to not only use it more but put more effort into sketches and notes. Increasing both quantity and quality.

Another strategy to increasing students interest in sketchbooks the podcast suggested is bringing your own past sketchbooks into your classroom and having them available for your students to look at. (Bogatz & Slusarski, 2017).Though this applies better to a middle school or high school classroom, it has proven successful that if students see that real producing artists regularly use sketchbooks in their practice they are more likely to see the benefit of sketching.

Finally, one thing that I wish would have been applied to my sketchbooks in high school is using it as a way to explore project ideas. through thumbnails. In high school we had weekly sketchbook assignments that were used to increase creativity and get us in the habit of drawing, while both of those things are beneficial. I think it would have been more productive for me if we had also used our sketchbooks to explore the ideas for our projects. They would have become more of a tool and less of a homework assignment.

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References:

Thompson, C. M., (1995). What should I draw today: Sketchbooks in early childhood. Art Education, 8 (5), 6-11.

Bogatz, T., & Slusarski, A. (2017) Making sketchbooks meaningful. [Episode 085]. Art Ed Radio. Podcast retrieved from www.theartofed.com

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