The Art of the Book

The V&A have an exhibition on now until June 29th called Blood on Paper: The Art of the Book. It looks great. A collection of artists books; some actual books, some the artist's own idea of a 'book' in varying medias and scales.

Above, Louise Bourgeois.
Below, Sol LeWitt

Below, Alberto Giacometti


There was an article about this show in the May issue of British Vogue. In the article they included images of various designers sketch books which was inspiring. When Zandra Rhodes travels, she makes sure to do a drawing every day... A nice rule to impose upon yourself. This week has been an interesting one for me. I've been painting every day...something I haven't done probably, since college. I miss it. But I'm also frustrated at my lack of practice, and my slowness. Having worked in graphics for so long, I need that instant gratification. I need the "undo". Perhaps this is good for me, to stay in the process instead of working towards an end. I want to get back into working on my sketch books. When I was younger I was constantly making sketches, writing down ideas. I feel like the past few years, that side of my creativity has been hibernating. I'm hoping it's like riding a bike, and as soon as I begin, I'll fall back into my routine. I think that when you're young working in a city, working 12 hours a day in front of a computer, the last thing you want to do when you get home is draw... You want to flop in front of the TV with a glass of wine and an episode of the OC. Now that I have the time and more than enough inspiration, I'm hoping something will happen...