Sketchbooks

To an artist, the sketchbook is like their Bible and best friend.  From play, to research, to thoughts and ideas, it is an outlet.  For most, it is a very cherished item.  As an art teacher, I think it is important for students to have something of their own, to cherish, and be able to have something that can be a positive and constructive outlet for them.  Whether you make your own, buy one from a store or improvise with another "book", making it your own is crucial.  For my first project with my classes this semester, we are "creating" our own sketchbooks and learning about artistic investigations.  I say "creating" because I am giving the menu options to the students to create one from scratch, buy one to use an older binder or folder.  However, they do need to personalize it with an artwork on the front cover (at least the front cover for now).

My goal with these sketchbooks is that they will utilize these books during upcoming projects, practice taking notes and sketches in them, and understand the artistic investigative process when creating an artwork.  

Here are a few visuals for examples:

old folder and store bought

hand-made and composition book

personalized old binder

Here are a couple websites and videos that I plan on sharing with my students as well:

http://www.marcjohns.com/blog/2013/01/i-make-my-own-sketchbooks.html

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-higher-purpose-of-doodling/

Also, here is my Rubric and criteria for an artistic investigation.  I want to make a "I mustache you" poster with these items on it so students can check themselves per project.

Here is my weekly planning for my Sketchbook week using my weekly planner.