Your sketchbook can be a safe place to do nothing or everything. It is a place where you can make marks, sketches, collages and doodles. And nobody else has to see it, unless you want them to.
Recently, I have been working in separate signatures that I put together when they are finished. This way, I can work on several wet pages at once. I like to use inexpensive watercolors and paint circles and stripes and dots. These marks become foundation for other marks.
Sometimes, I will go through and collage a piece of paper on each page just to get started. I often write my angels of the day on a page just to stimulate thought.
I have a bowl of ideas that I can pick a cue card from and get started.
I approach this process in a very nonlinear way. Working randomly through the pages of each signature, as I am inspired to make new marks. I have common motifs that I refer to often. These include birds, flowers, horses, trees, and houses.
Sometimes I start a page with just horizontal or vertical lines.
Despite this random approach, each book is a record of that month’s, inspiration, and ideas. And often it is a cohesive expression, even though it is a very random collection of sketches, drawings and doodles.
I like to use very simple materials like crayons, pens, markers, and inexpensive watercolors.
I have tried several different sizes of pages for this journal, and my favorite is 6″ x 6″. It’s not too big not too small and seems to be the right format for me.
I think the sketchbook ends up being part diary and journal and part sketchbook. I have been using this random sketchbook format for a couple of years now, and have quite a collection. I generally finish about one book a month. Each book is 84 pages long. It is six signatures of 14 pages each. And I glued the signatures back to back to create one book. And then I make a loose sleeve to cover the whole journal.
If you would like some inspiration and ideas for your own journal, then check out the mixed media retreat. It is an online course and still on sale.