A Year in Sketchbooks

This year has gone by so fast! Good thing I put some of these last twelve months down in my sketchbooks!

Up until about two years ago I always had a mess of books with me. I'd carry around my journal to record my thoughts and set out goals for myself, I'd carry around my notebook so I could remember what was said in my class lectures, I'd carry around a novel or a biography or whatever I was reading at the time and I'd carry around my sketchbook to doodle or jot down an idea for a project. Four books! And usually without a backpack! That's ridiculous!

I don't remember what the trigger was, but I decided to simplify and make my book life a more enjoyable and more effective one. I decided that my sketchbook would be the new house for my drawings, journal entries and notes. That way I keep all the things I need in one book. 

This year I filled up ten sketchbooks with my drawings, notes and journal entries and I've just started a new sketchbook to bust open 2009's front doors. It's such a nice thing to flip through the pages and see how my projects have changed throughout the year from one thing to another. Each book has at least one solid project that is waiting for a body to inhabit---it's always a battle decided whether I should further a project or jot down these ideas I know I could use later and I know I'll forget within minutes unless I put it down on paper. At least I have 'em written down for a rainy day...

2009 is going to be twelve months dedicated to quality.