What should be in a sketchbook? Should it contain mostly drawings? And do you have to be ‘good’ at drawing to keep one?

This workshop is for anyone who is interested in the sketchbook, whether you are planning to apply for art college, or are simply interested in finding out more about these books and how they can be developed by you, and for you.

Sketchbooks are hard to define. Some of us feel immediately comfortable working in them, but for others they throw up a range of obstacles and inhibitions which makes us question their importance or value.

These are the kinds of questions we will be asking in this one day workshop. We will examine a number of sketchbooks kept by textile artists, and explore the wide range of techniques and approaches they have used. We will look at and experiment with starting points, make a simple book, and start to work in it ourselves.

The aim is that by the end of the day each of us will have begun to appreciate and feel comfortable with the most important aspect of the sketchbook - its unique and personal relevance to its creator.