The Sketchbook Challenge: Techniques, Prompts, and Inspiration for Achieving Your Creative Goals [Paperback]

Sue Bleiweiss (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 26, 2012

Have you ever bought a new sketchbook, opened to the first page, and thought, "Now what do I do?" Sue Bleiweiss and the talented minds behind The Sketchbook Challenge are here to help.

Imagine a supportive community of artists sharing the innermost pages of their sketchbooks and offering you tips and techniques for overcoming creative blocks. That's what The Sketchbook Challenge is all about, and the popular blog of the same name has already inspired thousands. Inside this book, you'll find:
 
· Themes that will motivate you to start your sketchbook—and, more important, keep at it

· Tutorials spotlighting such mixed-media techniques as thread sketching, painted papers for collage, digital printing, and much more

· Strategies to get off the sketchbook page and start creating inspired art—whether you're into painting, collage, fiber art, or beyond.

· In-depth profiles of artists who have taken the Sketchbook Challenge and used it as a launching pad for their own meaningful artwork

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sue Bleiweiss has been a full-time artist for more than ten years, working with silk and other fiber, and her work resides in private collections worldwide. Sue teaches workshops, writes articles for fiber and craft magazines, and runs the Sketchbook Challenge blog. She lives in Massachusetts. Visit her website at www.suebleiweiss.com.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Potter Craft (June 26, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307796558
• ISBN-13: 978-0307796554
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.4 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,177 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Arts & Photography > Other Media > Mixed Media
  • #26 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Mixed-Media
  • #65 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Crafts & Hobbies > Papercrafts, Stamping & Stenciling > Papercrafts

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

44 of 44 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very inspiring June 30, 2012

By Gloria Hansen

Format:Paperback

This is a fun, inspiring book that is bursting with imagination and ideas.

The book is based on an idea the author had called the Sketchbook Challenge blog, which began in 2010. She invited various artists to come up with monthly challenges or themes and anyone who visited the blog was welcome to play. I've visited it several times. It's an incredibly active place that one can lost in.

I was very excited when I learned a spin-off book would be coming out, and I eagerly waited to get a copy. It finally arrived in the mail, and, wow, it did not disappoint! First, it looked good -- excellent cover paper, rounded page edges, nice size. It felt good in my hands. More importantly, a quick peruse of the pages and immediately I saw a clean layout and attractive images throughout. I knew it was a keeper.

Then I poured myself a tall glass of iced water and started reading. The book starts with a section on the basics -- types of books, paints, pencils, some ideas for loosening up, doodling, and so on -- a decent overview, luckily not long (I grow impatient when a book has too much intro material). Then starts the meat of the book -- the challenge itself.

There are 12 challenges. For each, two artists share how they approached the theme, including their insights and images from their journals. I like that it's two artists because the results are very different yet equally appealing. There is also a one-page technique spotlight included with each challenge -- bonus instructional material from one of the two artists, such as creating hand carved stamps. I like this extra touch.

I love reading about the thought process behind someone's work -- what inspired it, how they got from point A to point B, how their sketchbook was useful in allowing them to audition ideas that eventually evolved into finished art, and so on. I also appreciate that the artists were candid. "To be honest, when I first learned that Symbols was the theme I was working with, I panicked," said Carla Sonheim, who then went on to explain how her idea took root and the impressive work it produced. In the challenge called Weathered Beauty, artist Jill Berry explained why it did appeal to her and the drawings she created as a result of it. Jill provided that challenge's technique spotlight called "4-Step Drawing of a Cabin," which included a good explanation of pencil leads and her steps from sketch to finished drawing.

This book does not teach you how to make a journal nor how to draw. Rather, like the tagline says, The Sketchbook Challenge encourages you to open that blank book and through "techniques, prompts, and inspiration" use it "for achieving your creative goals."

95 of 110 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing June 29, 2012

By Nelson W Chan

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Looking at the title, I was expecting tips, inspirations, etc to actually paint or sketch in your sketchbook, and see nice samples of other artists' sketchbooks. In fact, the whole book is just about collage, gluing things into your sketchbook, screenprinting and stitching fabric in your sketchbook, & all are abstract in nature. If this is your style, you may like it. If you expect to see some real sketching/drawing/painting, don't waste your money.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So inspirational even my kids are sketching! June 30, 2012

By Wendy Bayer VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

The best creative book I've read in a long time! For one, the visual cues in this book are excellent. I also love the conversational tone of the book- you feel like you have a creative friend right in the room with you, helping you along. I love all the tip boxes, and the explanations of the many products out there. It's interesting to see what simple sketches and doodles become (my two girls loved the doodling tips & had to try them out right away!) as they transform into pieces of art. Most importantly, it opened my mind to new themes and a new way of looking at the world around me.
I enjoyed the different styles of all the artists, each of them inspirational. Excellent tools for those of us that get stuck and need a creative nudge now and then. Not only did I enjoy this book, but my 6 & 9 yr old daughters were inspired also. They are constantly asking "what can I draw?", and this book has gotten them out from in front of the tv, and into the yard this morning with their sketchbooks in hand. They've both decided to try out all the techniques in this book, and with such beautiful photographs they can do just that. Great inspirational book for artists of all ages! Will be in my library permanently.