Make a creative handmade sketchbook
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.
This course has now finished
Course Code: VO151
Duration: 5 sessions (over 5 weeks)
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Center for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
This Course will introduce you to a wide range of drawing techniques, that will turn the blank page into a personal and expressive one. Using a variety of collected papers, (cartridge, newspaper, paper bags, tracing, wrapping, graph paper, maps, envelopes etc.), your ideas will be explored in different directions, through drawing, painting, collage and mono-printing techniques. We will experiment with different papers and surfaces, through layering, folding, tearing, soaking, weaving, sewing etc. You will create a series of rich and varied pages, to be brought together to make a personal handmade sketchbook.
This Course looks at initial Sketchbook ideas, and personal interests - drawings, photographs, family history etc., and explores ways of developing these ideas in greater depth.
Demonstrations and discussions of experimental approaches to drawing and mark-making, using different materials and techniques; charcoal, ink, chalk pastels, masking tape, rubbings, stitching, mono-printing, painting and collage.
This is a live online course. You will need:
- Internet connection. The classes work best with Chrome.
- A computer with microphone and camera.
- Earphones/headphones/speakers.
We will contact you with joining instructions before your course starts.
What will we cover?
Each week new themes will be introduced, and different visual ideas will be developed through relevant techniques. These can be used as a starting point, or as part of your ongoing ideas.
- Different papers, considering paper qualities, size, shape and edges.
- Working with various materials, what to look for and where to start
- How materials work together
- Collage techniques, working with printed material
- Where to start in developing ideas and making a sketchbook
- Artists hand-made books, sketchbooks, book construction and the importance of a sketchbook
- Approaches to combining and joining drawings, photography and mono-printing,
- Folding techniques and working with paper including hole making, piercing, ripping, scratching, rubbings etc.
- Change in scale, and use of photography, text, colour, texture etc., how this can enhance ideas greatly.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Create your own handmade sketchbooks
- Experiment with new techniques and seemingly unrelated images, developing a willingness to experiment – to rip / erase / layer / destroy / stitch / soak etc., - and unearth many different qualities and unexpected links.
- make creative decisions about paper size, papers used, and covers, that reflect your themes and create a personal, playful and explorative visual diary.
- Gain experience and confidence in working with different materials and techniques, to develop ideas that are most expressive and personal.
- Learn the importance of exciting source material, to enable themes and interests to be developed in depth, through sketchbook work.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This Course is suitable for all students, whether beginners in art, or with any experience. Students take this Course for enjoyment, and as an opportunity to understand and experience many creative ways of developing their own Artists Sketchbook, through different ideas and methods.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
Students will be taught Online through a Zoom Class, and tuition will be given through group as well as individual discussions, advice and feedback. Demonstration and visual examples will be ongoing through the class.
Different themes and techniques will be introduced each week, to broaden experimentation and development of ideas. Relevant Artists, Artists’ books and present exhibitions will also be discussed.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
As this Course is Online, you will need to gather materials to work with. The materials that are advised, are all inexpensive, and easy to buy online, or in Art Shops. Different papers can be gathered, as well as re-cycled. Initial visual imagery to be gathered - e.g. / drawings / photographs / object collections / letters etc. will enable you to develop initial ideas. Papers and cloth personal to you,(letters, photographs, children’s drawings, textiles etc.) could be photocopied / enlarged, to then work with, and combine into your page.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Continue exploring sketchbooks as a creative discipline or why not have a look at some of our online and studio based mixed media courses.
Renata Minoldo is an artist and educator exploring the physical and emotional body through textiles, sculpture and experiences with people. She has an academic training in Fashion and Visual Arts and hands on experience in the Fashion Industry working in London and New York. She is interested in alternative ways to approaching art education, aiming to stimulate an intuitive learning and focusing on the individual processes and needs. She works with a wide variety of people, from children in galleries and primary schools to teenagers and older adults in community centres, charities and public spaces. Her work has been awarded with residencies internationally. https://www.renataminoldo.com/
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
