My Sketchbook Bookcase

 

More than 13 years of sketchbooks -- plus a little room to grow. Most books are in chronological order, but, of course, many books were used concurrently, so absolute chronology isn't possible. On the fourth shelf from the top, my colorful Uglybooks fit compactly and tidily in plastic storage boxes. Unfortunately, much of the bottom shelf gets wasted because the heating vent is behind it.

This sketchbook from 2020 expresses a little attitude.

A couple of weeks ago, I viewed a YouTube video that stabbed me directly in the heart. Teoh Yi Chie, better known as Parka, talked about how he lost nearly all of his completed sketchbooks.

As I was packing up all my sketchbooks for my move, I thought about Teoh and felt his loss and grief keenly. Although I have digital images of almost all of my sketches, they could never take the place of the bound books I carried around and filled daily, a page at a time. I couldn’t linger as much as I would have liked, but as I handled the books, I occasionally flicked through one, and it was like a visual flashback. Even the covers – handmade with ephemera when I traveled, or stickered with editorial commentary – captured the contents or era.

A couple of months ago when the media were filled with stories about Californians who had lost everything to fire, I realized I need to learn to detach myself from physical possessions, especially those I create myself. I have disposed of quite a few old artworks from my fiber and mixed-media days, but I still have a lot more work to do. I’m certainly not ready to toss entire sketchbooks.

Yesterday I unpacked six boxes and put more than 13 years of sketchbooks up into my newly moved (and now secured) bookcase. Still thinking about Teoh, I grieved for him all over again.

The sketchbooks on the first three shelves are stacked two-deep. Although these handbound books take up the most space, they were also the most fun to handle: The cover images told me immediately what season or location I was in when I filled them.