MY NAME IS LARISSA.

I think it's pretty safe to say that, regardless of chosen media, all artists share one very important tool in common: the sketchbook. The sketchbook is the place to keep all those random (and not-so random) musings, ideas and creative inspirations that can come to the artist without any warning. My sketchbook goes EVERYWHERE with me.

I've seen sketchbooks take many forms. I've seen sketchbooks that were piles of napkins, file folders stuffed with bits of things, lined notebooks, voice recorders, recycled paper bound in leather, virgin paper bound in leather, spiral bound, soft covers, paper covers, moleskins, hand-made paper, elephant-poo paper, and on and on. Choosing the right container to house my precious creative ideas can be a difficult choice with so many options.

I've been thinking about sketchbooks a lot lately because mine is nearing capacity. My current sketchbook is spiral bound. I like the spiral binding so I am able to open the front cover all the way to the back. This sketchbook was a gift from my alma mater, CCS in Detroit, a couple of years back when I was a guest speaker. It's pages are a rough kind-of heavy weight brown recycled paper. The cover is thick pressed black cardboard embossed with the CCS insignia. In addition to the scribbles and notes filling the pages it is also stuffed with pieces of scratch paper, fliers, brochures and other bits I have picked up in my artistic adventures. The whole thing is held closed with a fat gum-band and the spiral binding has become a bit warped. It's come a long way from the nice crisp book that was placed in my hand as a gift. I still remember writing on the first blank page...with a nice new black Sharpie. I have a thing about writing in my sketchbook almost exclusively with a black Sharpie. I don't know why. Somehow it just seems so real. So permanent, the way I'd like my work to be.

My sketchbook is like an old friend. We have history. We go way back. Seeing the latest edition almost full is both exciting and scary. There's a real sense of satisfaction at seeing all those pages full. COMPLETE! It's also hard when the time comes to move on to a new one. Will my new sketchbook and I get along? Will we share good ideas? I don't know. Well, I have a little time to find my new friend. My old friend still has a few blank pages left.

-Larissa

My sketchbook: