Sketchbook Alchemy: The Magic of Play

(Where it began!)

There’s a kind of freedom that only comes when we let go of the need to make something “good.” Lately, I’ve been rediscovering that freedom in my sketchbook, a place where lines wander, colours collide, and ideas take shape without permission or perfection. Interestingly, my older sketchbook work tended to be clean, detailed, and precise, as I tried to make each page a finished work of art. But these pages? They’re delightfully messy. Bold. Playful. They hum with spontaneity. I have my best friend to thank for that change.

One year, lovely Mary gifted me with a journal to purposely (shock!) destroy!! You may have seen this book with the cheeky, inviting title, “Wreck This Journal”. It sat pristine on my shelf for days. WRECK A JOURNAL? I didn’t think my heart could take it. The instructions say things like, “ Bring this book in the shower with you”, “Tie a string to the spine of this book. Swing wildly, let it hit the walls,” “Rub here with dirt”, “Sample various substances found in your home. Document what they are. Create colour themes”, the list goes on. I was brave and finally caved in; it was so much fun! Having permission to be spontaneous and reckless gave me such delight that I’ve been transferring some of that curiosity and playfulness into my actual sketchbooks.

Lately, I’ve come to see my sketchbook as more than just a collection of drawings. It’s a sacred space for play, a place where ideas can tumble out unedited, where the hand moves before the mind catches up. There’s something freeing about that moment when you stop worrying about what a piece “should” look like and instead let it become what it wants to be. A robot fishing from a pier made from stacked fish? Why not? A girl with daisy eyes? An orange haired lady sketched with ink, and tape, and glue and crayons? Of course! Is there something she is trying to tell me? Will I ever know? Some sketches bloom into ideas for future paintings, and others are nothing more than joyful experiments. Each one reminds me why I fell in love with creating in the first place.

(What secrets does she want to share?)

Here’s the important thing. This isn’t only about art. We ALL need a place like this, somewhere we can spill our thoughts, our dreams, and our questions, without the need to refine them. It could be a notebook of wild thoughts, a garden journal, a collection of photographs, or a folder of poems that never found their final line. What matters is having a space where curiousity can stretch its limbs, where we can make a mess and not apologise for it.

In a world that often demands productivity and perfection, choosing to play is a quiet, radical act. It’s a way of returning to wonder and remembering that creation begins not with control, but with curiosity.

So here’s to messy pages, friends who challenge us and know our hearts, radiant chaos, and to the courage it takes to let go, even for a moment and trust that beauty will find its way through.

“Daisy”