Sketchbooks for 8th Graders

In 8th grade, the first five minutes of class are dedicated to drawing practice. It's a good thing too, because when surveyed, the overwhelming majority of students here say they want to improve in their ability to draw. Drawing well takes practice, so we set aside a few minutes at the start of class to transition into "Art-Think" and practice looking, because part of drawing well is learning how to see.

Collaged sketchbook cover 

Some students chose to laminate the cover 

To get ready for drawing practice, each student made a small sketchbook. 








This year a beautiful 110 year old book press has been added to the studio. This was used to encourage students' sketchbooks to lie flat after they were bound. 

We used a simple three-hole Japanese binding this year, because last year the staples we used kept falling out or stabbing us! The skills introduced through this simple bookmaking exercise will be expanded later this term when a book-making center is created.