Planning a Writing Retreat for Artists

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Sigils as Art

by Alison | Grid Art Journal

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: May 2025

As a hobby artist, adding SIGILS is a creative way to begin weaving words and meaning into your artwork without using traditional text.

Sigils as Art

The History of Sigils

Ancient Beginnings

Sigils are symbolic representations used to focus intention, store meaning or convey secret messages. The word sigil comes from the Latin sigillum, meaning seal. These mystical markings have evolved over time, weaving through ancient magic, religion, art and modern spirituality.

The Roots of Sigils

The roots of sigils can be traced back to the earliest human civilizations. Ancient peoples used symbols and marks to represent divine beings, magical forces and protective energies. Throughout earliest civilizations, people created symbolic languages to represent the unseen forces that shaped their world.

Though not called “sigils” at the time, these symbols functioned in similar ways to convey power, protection, identity and spiritual meaning. I’m just going to take a closer look at three influential sources.

Mesopotamian Cylinder Seals

In ancient Mesopotamia (circa 3500 BCE), artisans carved intricate designs into small cylindrical stones. These cylinder seals were then rolled across soft clay to stamp a unique imprint, often used to sign documents or secure goods. These cylinder seals are much like those fancy embossed rolling pins used for shortbread at Christmas to add thistles and other simple designs.

Each seal was personal, symbolic and sometimes featured deities, mythical creatures, or scenes of high ritual significance. They functioned both practically, as legal signatures and magically, believed to invoke divine protection or authority.

The repeated use of these symbols did create a kind of ritualistic magic to embed intention and identity in the daily act of sealing (or baking). These seals are some of the earliest known examples of humans using symbolic designs for both earthly and spiritual purposes.

Photo credit: Armstrong Institute of Biblical Archaeology

Egyptian Hieroglyphs

The ancient Egyptians developed one of the most sophisticated symbolic languages in history which are the hieroglyphs. Hieroglyphs were used from around 3100 BCE and each hieroglyphic character held multiple layers of meaning: literal (a sound or word), symbolic (a concept) and spiritual (an energy or deity). These symbols were often used in tombs, temples and amulets to invoke blessings, guidance, or protection in the afterlife and they were encased in cartouches for people’s names.

See Cleopatra’s cartouche below.

Hieroglyphs weren’t just writing as they were seen as living symbols, infused with the creative power of the gods, particularly Thoth, the god of writing and magic. Certain hieroglyphic combinations were crafted as protective spells or powerful names, acting much like modern sigils in their intent and energy.

Norse Runes

The runic alphabet used by Germanic and Norse peoples from around 150 CE consisted of characters called runes, each representing both a sound and a spiritual concept. Runes were carved into wood, stone, bone and metal for use in divination, magical protection and sacred communication. Each rune was more than just a letter.

For example, Fehu (ᚠ) stood for “wealth” but also symbolized abundance, success and fertility.

Bluetooth

A rune you probably know is the one for Bluetooth which began as a code name for the actual software but the name stuck.

Runes were often arranged into bindrunes which are two or more runes combined into a single symbol, much like modern sigils, to concentrate and amplify their power. Runes were used in rituals, worn as amulets and etched onto weapons or tools, imbuing everyday life with mystical significance and divine intention.

Common Threads

Though these ancient systems that I’m mentioning emerged in different cultures and continents, they share a deep, intuitive understanding with three highlights:

Symbols have power.
Shape and form can carry intention.
Designs can act as a bridge between the seen and unseen worlds.

These early symbolic languages laid the foundation for sigil-making as we know it today. Sigils is a way to transform ordinary letters or images into sacred signs which carry energy, will and wonder. These early symbols were often used in ceremonies, rituals and written charms to invoke protection, prosperity or guidance.

Medieval Magic

The Occult

In the Middle Ages, sigils took on a more formal role in some Western occult traditions. They were sometimes used by magicians and alchemists to represent angels, demons, or spiritual entities. Grimoires (magical textbooks), like the Lesser Key of Solomon, included elaborate sigils to summon and control spirits used sigils. Herbalists and astrologers use sigils to encode rituals, names of power and cosmic forces. These sigils were often believed to shrink divine or magical energy into a visible form.

The Chaos Magic Movement

Statement of Intent

In the 20th century, sigils were revived and reimagined by modern occultists especially in the movement known as Chaos Magic. Pioneered by practitioners like Austin Osman Spare, this new approach simplified sigil creation. Spare taught that a sigil could be made by writing a statement of intent (like “I am confident”).

Repeating Letters

Another way is to remove the vowels and repeating letters, so Johanna becomes JHN and Alison becomes LSN.

Abstract Design

Additionally, you can rearrange the remaining letters into an abstract design. At this point you can see the reflection in many business logos as well. This design (the sigil) was then charged with energy through meditation, ritual, or focused visualization and left to work on the subconscious mind. This method focused on personal intention and creative expression.

Modern Use

Artful Expression

Today, sigils are experiencing a renaissance but not just in magical practices but also in art, design, tattoo culture and personal growth.

People create sigils to:

Set intentions or goals.
Represent their name or identity.
Focus meditation or mindfulness.
Add mystery and symbolism to artwork.

I like to use techniques like sigil maps to blend order (like the alphabet) with creativity and perhaps spiritual meaning.

Sigil Maps

Turning Words into Symbols

A sigil map is a creative tool that transforms words into unique symbols by mapping letters onto a series of circles. It’s a simple yet magical system like a visual code where each letter of the alphabet has its own place, allowing you to draw a sigil (a symbolic design) that represents a word or phrase.

The Structure

Three Concentric Circles

To start, draw three concentric circles, one inside the other, like a ripple in a pond.

Outer Circle: Divide this circle into 13 equal segments (+/- 27.7°)
Middle Circle: Divide into 8 equal segments (45°).
Inner Circle: Divide into 5 equal parts (72°).

These numbers 13, 8 and 5 are part of the Fibonacci sequence which I’ve spoken about before and is a pattern found throughout nature, from flower petals to pinecones. Using this natural sequence brings an organic and natural harmony component to your sigils.

Mapping the Alphabet

Now, assign the 26 letters of the English alphabet to these segments:

Outer Circle: Start at the top right and move clockwise, placing the letters A to M (13 letters).
Middle Circle: Continue from N to U (8 letters).
Inner Circle: Complete the alphabet with V to Z (5 letters).

Each letter now has a unique place on the map. You can check your diagram against my sigil map.

Drawing a Sigil

From a Word

To create a sigil from a word:

Lay a sheet of tracing paper over the sigil map.
Plot the first letter of the word on the map and mark with an open dot (a circle).
Draw a straight line from that letter to the next.
Continue connecting each letter in the word until you reach the last letter, now mark with a short line or arrowhead.
The resulting shape is your sigil which is a visual symbol of your word.

You can keep it simple with lines, or add curves, dots, or embellishments for a more artistic touch.

Intention or Meditation

Focus Points for Inner Work

Sigils are powerful additions to spiritual or meditative rituals. They can help you focus your intention and anchor your energy. In intention work, a sigil can be drawn on paper, carved into a candle, or written with herbs or water as part of a ritual. In meditation, you can gaze at the sigil to quiet your buzzing mind and tune in to the frequency of your intention. You might burn, bury, or release the sigil after the ritual by symbolically letting go and trusting the universe to carry your message.

Hidden Messages

Write in a Visual Code Just for You

Because sigils are abstract, they make excellent secret symbols. Maybe you can weave them into your life in subtle ways that others won’t recognize. Leave a sigil in a letter, a notebook margin, or even on a wall as you mark. Perhaps you could stitch one into your favorite clothing or write it in invisible ink. Possibly you can use sigils to encode affirmations, memories, or even your computer passwords in visual form. This is a beautiful way to embed meaning into the mundane, turning everyday life into a personal ritual.

One Word Sigil

Alison

In general, you would do a one-word sigil perhaps of your name. So, here I’m showing you what my name, Alison, looks like as a sigil using this particular sigil map.

One Phrase Sigil

Motivational Phrases

You could do a motto or motivational phrase as a sigil. Sayings like, “no pain, no gain” or “fortune favors the brave” make good phrase when sigils. If you have a family or company motto you can do a sigil for that as well.

I Love You

How about trying a phrase like, “I love you” which will look like this?

Where to Use Sigils

Everyday Life and Spiritual Practice

Sigils are not just abstract symbols, but rather they are tools of intention, creative expression, and personal power. Once you’ve created a sigil, you can place it in meaningful spaces to amplify its purpose or keep it close as a quiet reminder of your inner magic. Here are some inspired ways to use your sigils:

Tattoos

A sigil tattoo can easily serve you as a permanent affirmation, a protective charm, or a hidden mantra that lives on your skin. Because sigils are abstract, only you (or those whom you choose) may know what they mean. You might ink a sigil tattoo for strength, self-love, healing, or a deeply personal word that’s transformed into art. Placing the sigil on a meaningful part of your body can enhance its symbolic value over the heart, the wrist, the spine, or anywhere that feels significant.

Art Signatures

Instead of signing your name in the usual way, you can use a sigil as your artistic monogram. This creates a unique identity for yourself and adds a layer of mystique to your work. It allows your energy or message to be embedded in your creations without revealing everything to the viewer. Whether on canvas, digital art, sculpture, or craftwork, a sigil-signature makes your work feel more intentional and sacred.

Journals and Sketchbooks

Use your sigils to decorate or mark your journal pages, sketchbooks, or planners. You can draw a sigil at the top of a page to set an intention for the day. Perhaps add one to an art journal entry to seal your thoughts, like an energetic lock. Include sigils in your vision boards or creative brainstorms to direct the energy you want to silently call in. This quiet, consistent practice adds can offer depth to your self-reflection and creative life.

Overarch

Why Sigils Endure

Sigils have been, and are still, kept alive across the centuries is likely their powerful combination of meaning and mystery. They allow us to hide something precious in plain sight like a word, a wish, a truth and turn it into something beautiful and uniquely ours. Perhaps you can bring a sigil into your art practice. Let me know how you get on.

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Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.

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Join me as I sketch, draw and paint a weird autumn themed knobby gourd using colored ink as a hobby artist.

What to Pack for a Writing Retreat

by Alison | Writing for Artists

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: May 2025

Overarch

Ideas to Help You

In this article, I’m sharing my favorite tips on what to pack in your pencil bag, yes, the writing tools you’ll actually use, plus a few thoughtful extras to bring along for any kind of retreat, whether it’s for writing, art, or a mix of both. But I’ve got more to share (because let’s be real, packing for a creative getaway means bringing more than just pens and notebooks).

I cover everything from what kind of luggage works best, why having a handy city bag is a total game-changer, and what to tuck inside it. I’ve also included comfy yet creative outfit ideas that can take you from daytime doodling to evening journaling, including jewelry, makeup and the toiletry bits you’ll be glad you didn’t forget. Plus, I’ve added a few thoughts on tech and must-have accessories to keep your creativity flowing no matter where you are.

More on How to Plan a Writing Retreat for Artists

Getaway

A writing retreat happens when you go away for a weekend of two to three nights, or three to four days to clear your mind and do some writing. It could either be a weekend, mid-week, or a shoulder-week where you’re partly in the weekend and partly in the main week, it doesn’t really matter.

This summer with my friend, I’m planning a two-night three-day writing retreat for artists. I’m going to share with you the best things to take and what to pack without overloading you bags and hauling unused or unwanted stuff around. I will have more to say about our actual retreat experience later.

What to Wear

Three Days

You’ll need clothes for three days. You’ll be travelling up on the first day and travelling back on the third day, so you really want travel clothes for those two travel days.

Arrival Day

On arrival day, you’ll want to wear your comfortable clothes and these you can also wear on your departure day on the way home.

Arrival Day Afternoon and Evening

Once I’ve arrived at my destination, I’m happy to remain in my travel clothes for the bulk of the day, through lunch and into the afternoon. But in the evening, I do like to change into something better. On our particular weekend away, we are having dinner in the restaurant, so I want to have a nice top to wear, even though the pants were kept simple.

Middle Day or Days

The middle day when you’re at the hotel is more flexible. In the morning and afternoon, you can wear your casual middle day outfit. Then you could just swap out the top for dinner, add some extra jewelry. Your pashmina and you’re ready to go.

Social Media

If your weekend away is more rustic or in the woods and you don’t feel like putting on clean clothes just for dinner then of course you don’t have to, but I like to. So that’s why I like to take an extra top for the two evening dinners. Typically photographs will be taken in the evenings, so it’s nice to look your best. If you don’t mind being snapped in the same outfit for the whole weekend, that’s fine.

In this social media age, it tends to be the case that pictures will be taken. I don’t like getting caught in the same top or, I don’t like getting caught in the same clothes, so particularly it’s the tops you need to change. The bottoms don’t really matter as much.

Departure Day

On departure day, you’re going to wear the clothes you wore up on travel arrival day. This keeps things simple.

Luggage

Monster Luggage

When I went to Europe a few years ago, I had a monster suitcase full of stuff. I was only going for a week and yet for some reason I thought I needed mountains of clothes, shoes and who knows what was in my suitcase. When I checked in at my home airport at Vancouver, I was already overweight and had to pay a fee before I’d even started.

Hauled on the Coach

Finally, I arrived in London and I had to catch a coach up to Oxford. My suitcase was so heavy the guy couldn’t lift into the hold of the coach and he turned to me and said rather loudly, “Have you got a body in here, madam?”

Hauled at the Hotel

My journey continued, I dragged the suitcase to my hotel. The day I arrived the elevator wasn’t working and I was on the 4th floor so I had to pay the bellhop to carry this suitcase up the stairs. It was so heavy they needed two of them. Anyway, I pushed on.

More Stuff

I bought souvenirs, knickknacks, gifts for my kids, some books, who knows what. To take home with me. In the end, I had so much stuff that I had to actually buy a second monster suitcase to stuff in all the stuff that I had purchased whilst I was in England. Back at Heathrow for my flight home and of course, I was overweight but this time on both suitcases and had to pay another set of fees.

Never Check a Bag

I finally got home after dragging tons of junk around the world, and half of it I never even used. I made a pact with myself that I would never ever check a bag again. What this really meant is that I only ever take cabin sized bag wherever I go.

That was back in 2013, over twelve years ago. Every time I’ve traveled since then, I have only ever taken the small cabin sized suitcase which you can put in an aircraft cabin above your head.

In the Bag

My packing policy now is that if it doesn’t fit in my little suitcase, it doesn’t go. The cabin bag I have is the Rimowa and this one is similar. I’m not sure of the exact dimensions, but it actually fits in an aircraft cabin above the seats. It’s a hard shell in a dark ruby red and I’ve had it probably since 2014 and it’s still going strong.

Now people say to me, “Is that all you’re bringing?” and I say, “Yes” because I can travel with my little suitcase whizzing around cities, on buses, on trains and on planes. It’s so small it just can never be that heavy. If you pack less, you may discover that it is liberating to haul less and use a smaller suitcase.

Clothes to Pack

Trousers

Choose elasticated trousers, pants or joggers which are not too tight. You’ll be sitting in the car for nearly two hours, and you want to be in something comfortable. Currently, I enjoy traveling in these joggers as they are light and comfortable. I have them in both black and khaki and I like to travel in the olive green / khaki ones because they really don’t show the dirt.

Tops

I like to wear layers when I’m traveling. On the top this means a bra, a camisole and a T-shirt and additionally, perhaps a soft hoodie. I have this Hanes hoodie. If things get too hot in the car you could take off the outer layer and if things get cooler, you can put a layer back on. Even if you are traveling in the summer, you never know if the vehicle is going to breakdown and you have to stand at the side of the road for three hours as it gets dark and rains.

Footwear

Limit Weight

I once went away for a week to Europe, and I took seven pairs of shoes. For that whole week of travel, I only ever wore my trainers. The other shoes lay in the suitcase, never to be used, but I had to haul them in my massive heavy suitcase all around in taxis, on planes, on trains and buses. It was exhausting. After that trip, I decided to cut my footwear right down.

Trainers

The best shoes to travel in are your trainers which are comfortable. In general, I prefer Nike sneakers for travel. Make sure the laces are not done up too tight or get slip ons. You can wear these on day one travelling up and definitely for on day three traveling back home. Your trainers do not go in your suitcase, you wear them.

Slippers

If you are staying in a hotel, you really don’t want to be walking barefoot, in your room, in the shower, in the corridors or around the pool. One way to overcome this is to have flip flops to go to the pool and in the public areas within the hotel and then you can have some soft slippers to wear in your bedroom. I find that the solution to this problem is to have some neutral-colored furry slippers that look like slides which you can wear in your room, in the hotel or by the pool. Maybe not in the shower but then I stand on a towel that does not cover the drain.

Sandals

You will probably need sandals or strappy pair of shoes to wear on one of the middle days. Personally, I like a flat sandal which is strapped to my foot. So, not flip flops or slides, but a pair of sandals that is secured to my foot. I like to choose my sandals in a neutral colour like beige, tan or olive which will co-ordinate with my whole outfit’s colorway. I like sandals which coordinate with my city tote bag too.

Socks

You will need three pairs of socks, one for each day. Personally, I prefer a low-cut white sock which fits neatly into my sneakers and are comfortable. I usually take white socks only when traveling. If you have room in your travel bag, then take an extra pair of socks. Socks can be worn in your room if you don’t have flip flops or slippers.

Middle Day Clothes

Show Your Style

It depends how many middle days you have. On our two-night getaway we had one middle day which was, well, the middle day. The middle day (or days) is when you want you to wear something appropriate and comfortable. Here I’m offering you three options for your middle day, depending on the type of retreat you’re going on.

Option 1: T-shirt and Pants

This is my favorite look for middle days, white T-shirt and some casual loose pants. The white T-shirt must be white and you don’t want something that’s three years old and been lying in the bottom of the dog basket. If you can’t get your white T-shirts white, then wear a coloured one.

I like to keep my T-shirts plain and simple and so I avoid logos where I can. Wear a skin tone bra underneath your white tee so it doesn’t show. For the loose pants, these could either be palazzo, a cotton pant, a cargo pant or some loose jeans.

Option 2: T shirt and Wrap Skirt

The second option is the same white T-shirt, but now we’ve got the addition of a wrap skirt. A wrap skirt is usually made of light fabric, so it has drape and is easy to wear. They are usually thin and do not take up much room in your suitcase. Your wrap skirt could either be in a darker colour or highly patterned so it can double up as your sarong when you go to the pool. There are many styles, but I have this neat skirt and it has shorts underneath with a pocket for your phone.

Option 3: Dress

My third option for you is a dress. For many women, a dress is a great choice as it can be in any colour or pattern, it can be a mini or midi, and whatever length you’re comfortable in. If I do decide to take a dress, I prefer to have one that’s got pockets in it. Additionally, I like my dress to coordinate with my hoodie from earlier and my pashmina.

Accessories

Pashmina

A pashmina, or light wrap, is a great item for travellers. You can also take it with you in your city bag on the car journey both back and forth. It doubles up as a wrap for the evening. Your pashmina can be flexible enough that you can also use it as a sarong when you go to the pool if you don’t want to bring a separate sarong along.

City Bag or Tote Bag

I like to use what I call a city bag when I’m traveling. This is a large bag and it can be a tote bag which is big enough to contain your laptop and iPad and all your travel documents. Personally, I like a structured city bag which is open at the top and one that maybe has a couple of zip pockets for the smaller things. A city bag is easy to put over your shoulder. Your city bag will also stand on the top of your suitcase, hooked over the main luggage handle.

What to Carry in Your City Bag

When you leave home, your city bag does not contain your laptop and iPad, all your tech that’s in your suitcase. It will have your travel documents, make up, cash and wallet and maybe you can tuck your pashmina in there as well.

Once you are at your destination, and you are doing your writing as we will be doing in the coffee shop, your city bag is where you put your laptop, cables, iPad, your journals and pencil case. Suddenly your city bag gets heavy, but as you are just hauling it around the hotel, going to the coffee shop, going to the writing room and going to the business center it’s okay.

Make sure you do not travel in the car with all the weight in the city bag from the start. Only load in the bulk of your tech and books when you are at your destination. An option to a city bag is a tote, but I find totes quite floppy and irritating to use in general.

Makeup and Toiletries

Note: If you don’t wear makeup, you can skip this section.

Makeup

In my makeup bag I have a few essentials:

Brow pencil
Eyeliner
Mascara
Eyeshadow
Lip liner
Lipstick doubles as blusher
Earbuds
Cotton wipes

Hair

Straightener

If you don’t straighten your hair, skip this bit. If I let my hair air dry, I then call it my thatched roof look. As someone who has slightly frizzy hair, I do find a flat iron can help, but I don’t want to take my monster size industrial strength from home because it’s just too big and clunky. I choose to take my mini travel hair straightener which is about five inches long. It is lightweight, but gets the job done.

Shampoo and Conditioner

You have three options:

Take your own good shampoo and conditioner decanted into two small travel size bottles.
Only take your good conditioner to soften your hair and use the provided shampoo.
Take neither shampoo nor conditioner and use the hotel’s products.

Hairbrush

A basic hairbrush for blow drying your hair. Hint: Wrap 5cm (3″) strips of black electrical tape around the hairbrush handle. Use the tape to cover the peep hole on the inside of your hotel door and if your shoes rub your heels, use this tape on your skin instead of a Band-Aid.

Comb

A comb if you use one.

First Aid Kit

Medications

I carry a micro first aid kit because I may require something when I’m out and about. Pack any prescribed medications that you are taking, but you don’t need to take the whole bottle. What you do need to do is take enough for your trip.

My first aid checklist looks like this:

Prescribed medicine in small bottle.
Cuts and grazes: Band-Aids (Plasters)
Headaches and stiff backs.: Tylenol and Aleve
Traveler’s tummy: Imodium to settle things down.

Travel Jewelry

Why Pack Jewelry?

If you are someone who never wears jewelry as a matter of course, then you can skip over this section. Let’s be quite clear what I’m talking about when I say jewelry and travel. I’m not talking about your finest gold chains, diamond rings or heirloom strings of pearls from granny — you can leave those precious baubles at home. What I am talking about is some lovely costume jewelry that will elevate your outfits and show your personality when you travel.

What to Avoid

Costume jewelry can be very tricky to collect.

There is a fine line between cheap and nasty junk jewelry and artisan handcrafted, responsibly sourced natural jewelry pieces.

Avoid compound materials like brass and base metal alloys.
Avoid nickel, tin, lead and copper if not coated and treated.
Avoid cheap metals and “gold-looking” plated chains and jewelry.
Avoid all pieces which contain components that you have never heard of.

What to Choose

Here are some tips on what to look for and how to choose costume jewelry.

Choose hypoallergenic gold plated, sterling silver or stainless-steel prongs for your earrings as they are unlikely to cause an allergic reaction.
Select jewelry made from natural items like wooden beads, glass beads, stone beads, plant seeds, seedpods, feathers, crystal beads, bone, seashells and fossils.
Select necklace and bracelet cords made from cotton, cotton elastic, bamboo (modal), silk, wool, leather, raffia, hemp, twine or other natural fibers.
Choose non irritating resin (plastic) if you like, but it does impact the environment.

Earrings

Personally, I like to wear simple fine gold hoops as earrings. However, I will take an optional pair of big jazzy earrings that I could wear on one of the evenings. I usually purchase my evening earrings at Walmart, as it doesn’t matter if they get lost.

Necklaces

Necklaces will finish off your look even when you’re traveling. For a three-day trip, I would probably take two or three necklaces and all of them are costume jewelry. To make things easier, I like to have necklaces that coordinate with my whole travel wardrobe colour palette which is mainly neutrals and earth tones.

Typically, and mainly for the evenings, I will take two, what I call statement pieces, which are larger chunky jewelry pieceswith perhaps bigger and brighter beads or crystals or they have something fabulous dangling off them. During the day I’m likely to wear a light beaded necklace that fits the season and where I am. I have a couple of necklaces which I picked up at Walmart over five years ago for $9 that I’m still wearing because they still look good.

Bangles and Bracelets

One or two bangles and bracelets can add interest to your look. Typically, I will take an elasticated beaded stone or crystal bracelet, or a wooden bangle or two, so I can pick and choose how to coordinate everything once I’m there.

Jewelry at the Poolside

Of course, you would never swim in your fine jewelry, nobody does. You would not get into a chlorinated pool wearing a string of pearls or some fabulous gold chain which you received from your great aunt. But when you are swimming or lounging by a pool, you’re not really wearing very many clothes and this is the time when accessories can add to your look.

When I’m reclining by the pool, I will wear earrings and a necklace. I may or may not wear a bangle. These pieces are all costume jewelry and often have wooden beads which are not valuable whatsoever.

I’ll let you into a secret, I’m also a crocheter, and I have crocheted several necklaces. specifically, to wear at the poolside and in the water. Here’s a photo of me in Mexico last year wearing a handcrafted crocheted necklace, admittedly at dinner, but I still wore it in the pool earlier in the day.

Remember that jewelry is a way to elevate your look, finish off your outfit and it says something about who you are as a person as well. I believe that it is important for your self-esteem to make the best of yourself.

Travelling with Jewelry

I like to put my costume jewelry in little plastic bags so nothing gets tangled up and I can see exactly what I have.

Sunglasses

If you have a pair of sunglasses, take them with you. I only have one pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses (not cheap) which I wear all the time, so definitely in the car traveling back and forth and probably went outside if it’s a sunny day.

Reading Glasses

If you have reading glasses or glasses in general, of course you would take them with you.

Clutch Bag

I like to take a very small clutch bag which is small enough to only hold my cell phone, my credit cards and my room keys. This is the micro bag that I’m likely to use after the day is done and when we go for dinner. I don’t want to be hauling my city bag around with all that it contains all day and then into the night. A small clutch bag does not take up much space in your luggage.

City Hat

It really depends on who you are and where you’re going whether or not you would need a city hat. So, a city hat is not a ball cap, not a visor and it’s not a wide brimmed beach hat. Beach hats have massive brims to keep the sun off your shoulders, whereas your city hat is much smaller

Typically, a city hat has a narrow brim, and it could also be a fedora or a Panama hat. I like them in straw and perhaps with a ribbon. This year I saw a fabulous city hat at Free People which was crocheted from straw and had a copper edge which was great because it was the only hat that fit me.

It seems I actually have a large head so a small or medium just doesn’t cut it. Sometimes the large hat doesn’t fit me either they just perch on top of my head, so it is tricky to find a hat that actually fits and just pops straight on. Ideally, I need an extra-large because I don’t want the brim gripping my head either as that just gives you a headache.

If you are someone like me who actually lives in a city, then the city hat makes sense. It’s small enough when you’re traveling on the bus so you’re not bashing into other people and hitting the bars and whatnot as you go about your day on public transport. So far this year I am still looking, I may go back to Free People and pick up the hat I saw last week.

Tech

Laptop

For a writing retreat you’re going to need to take something to write on, and typically it’s going to be your laptop. I write in Word and have my pages set up before I leave home. And if you are going away with your laptop, it is always best to restart it and clear the cache before you leave home. The main thing here is to make sure that you remember to take the charging cables.

iPad

As I do digital art, I also like to take my iPad so I can work on some ideas as they crop up. This is not essential, but if you have one, take it.

Apple Pencil

Along with this, I’ll have to pack my Apple Pencil too so I can draw with Procreate and do digital art on my iPad. Nothing worse than being away from home with your iPad but not with the Apple pencil Because you can’t. You just can’t draw anything.

Phone

It may be obvious, but for sure, you’re going to take your phone with you. It’s got all your information on it. It has your payment methods. It’s got your hotel booking details. Your phone is what you’re probably going to take most of your photographs with unless you have a camera.

Art and Writing Supplies

Journals

Travel Journal

When I’m traveling, I like to take my travel journal. This is an A5 sketchbook which I will often layout ahead of time with my destination title page and other details like the date. Typically, I will pencil sketch something each day that interests me. This can be what I did, or where I went, or what I ate, but these are definitely sketches. they’re not finished art pages.

I also like to add stickers or cards or images from flyers or brochures, perhaps from the hotel with their name and logo, or restaurant’s business cards where ate. I use the glue stick and this is where my pencil bag and markers come in and you can see more on that below. I will only finish my travel journal pages once I get home.

Sketchbook

As a hobby artist. I like to take my sketchbook everywhere with me and it really does depend what I’m doing when I’m traveling which size of sketchbook I would take.

For example, if I was doing a sketch weekend, I would take my big A3 sketchbook. However, for our Writing for Artists Summer Weekend Retreat I will probably take my A5 sketchbook with multimedia paper from Strathmore. None of the sketches which I will do when on my travels will be finished on the journey, I will generally finish them off when I get back to my home studio.

Writing Journal

On a writing retreat, I’m going to be taking my writing journal. So, for this particular summer writing retreat I am working on a manuscript for a book. I’ve probably been occupied with this project for the past two months and which I envisage it will be published sometime next year.

I use my writing journal exactly how I see the book unfolding. I segment it out into sections and chapters and add tabs on the side so when I come across ideas or thoughts about certain areas of the book, I can insert them in the appropriate space.

My writing journal is a working document stuffed with images and ideas of what I want to put into my book. My current writing journal is the Leuchtturm 1917 A5 dot grid with a pale dove grey cover. I love this journal.

Pencil Case

Case

I like to use a simple pencil case and the one I have is a great net version from Muji.

Pens

I carry three ballpoint pens in black, blue and red. I also have some black Pigma Microns, typically in a 0.3mm and 0.5mm sizes.

Graphite Pencils

I travel with two graphite pencils. I prefer Staedtler 2H and HB as good solid pencils.

Colored Pencils

When travelling I only take a few of my Faber Castell polychromos coloured pencils.

To travel I pack about five colours:

Warm grey II (for shadows and depth)
Warm grey III (for shadows and depth)
Caput mortuum (a red brownish puce, for people, animals and tree branches)
Earth green yellowish (a greenish yellow, for trees and foliage)
Gold 250 (great for shadows and warmth)
Cobalt blue (blue, for sky, sea and water)

Markers

I’ll probably take three markers in red, blue and yellow. I like the Tombow dual brush markers. Typically, I will only use these for writing a restaurant name or place where we went.

Eraser

I use a Staedtler white plastic eraser.

Ruler

I usually have a six-inch ruler in my pencil bag. Sometimes I will also take a full maths set including a protractor and a 45° and a 60° set square.

Compass

Depending on how much stuff I’m already packing in my bag and how long I’m traveling for, I may pack a compass as well to draw circles.

Glue

I take a glue stick and I usually get these in bulk from Amazon. I use the glue stick to attach small pieces of paper like menus, receipts, stickers and other bits and bobs as memories of my travels.

Washi Tape

I may take one or two rolls of washi tape and typically they will be in neutral shades or in the theme of the place where I’m going to. For a beach getaway I would take a seaside styled washi tape and for a writing retreat perhaps something simpler.

Paint Set

Travel Watercolor Set

I don’t always take my watercolors with me, but if I do, I take my travel watercolor set. I have the Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolor travel set with twelve half pans and it is only five inches long.

Paintbrushes

I use synthetic squirrel brushes. I pack two paintbrushes, a fat brush size 10 and one thin brush size 4.

Watercolor Sketchbook

If I’m traveling somewhere and I think I’m going to be painting, I will take my Strathmore watercolor sketchbook which is slightly larger than an A4 (11 x 15 inches).

Full Items and Supplies List

Clothes Links

Below are all the basic clothes to which I have linked in this article. Generally, these are items which I have personally bought and wear myself. Most of these you can get from Amazon.

Textured slipper slides

Black electrical tape

Evening earrings

Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses

Small clutch bag

Art Supplies

Leuchtturm 1917 A5 dot grid

Staedtler 2H and HB pencils

Tombow dual brush markers

Pigma Micron black pens

Staedtler white plastic eraser.

full maths set

Synthetic squirrel paintbrushes

Schmincke Horadam Aquarelle watercolor travel set

Strathmore watercolor sketchbook

Strathmore mixed media A5 sketchbook

Washi tape sea themed

Washi tape plain

Faber Castell polychromas colored pencils

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

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Artist Interview: Claire

by Alison | Artist Interviews

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: May 2025

Artist Interview: Claire

This time I have something really special for you and I was delighted to meet with and interview an exceptional young artist, Claire, from Price Design Studio in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Claire is an award-winning honors graduate from Mohawk College Advanced Graphic Design program and Art Design Foundations Program and also carries a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Wilfrid Laurier University.

Current Work

Claire creates graphics for digital and print, including event graphics, signage, flyers, catalogues, booklets, posters and more. She collaborates with small businesses and non-profit organizations in her community to design impactful event signage for events, galas, symposiums and more. She works closely with the black and racialized community in Hamilton to help foster confidence, cultural pride and a sense of belonging.

Achievements

Claire was the only student to receive two awards at her graduation, the Outstanding Achievement Award and Judge W.K. Warrender Award at Mohawk College. She previously won the Academic Excellence Award for Creative Industries at Mohawk College and received a Bronze Medal at the Ontario Skills Competition for Graphic Design. She was recently a recipient of the City of Hamilton Mayor’s award for her contributions to the black and racialized community for her graphic design work.

Genesis

Have you always been interested in art?

Yes, ever since I was young, I always enjoyed drawing, coloring and painting.

Do you come from an arty family?

Yes definitely, my mother and older sister have always been very creative, and I’ve discovered my younger sister is also quite crafty!

Did you have a sketchbook / sticker book as a young person?

Yes, always had a sketchbook and still do to this day, although I do enjoy working on my iPad, it’s always great to go back to basics with a pencil and paper.

Your Art Journey

I understand that you first studied another subject before going back to college for art and design. Can you tell us about how you came to that decision?

I achieved a BA for Sociology and Environmental Studies. During COVID-19 I took time to reflect on what I want to be doing with my everyday life. I decided to go back to school as a mature student this was a tough decision. So, I took the one-year art and design foundations program to ensure this was what I wanted. After receiving a 98 GPA I knew I found the right path and signed up for the Advanced Graphic Design Program.

How old were you when you finished your studies?

Twenty-nine.

Do you plan to take more art related courses in years to come?

Perhaps!

Inspiration

Who are your current favorite artists or designers?

Made By James @made.by.james, CJ Cawley @CJ.Cawley.Design and James Barnard @Barnardco.

Do you think inspiration is all around us or is it something that must be consciously brought into focus?

Inspiration is always all around us.

Do you believe that everyone can be artistic?

Of course!

Why do you create art?

Because it comes easy to me and is enjoyable. I also love computers so I enjoy working on them for my graphic design work, but I also love that I can switch to different mediums like pottery or painting.

Message

Do you think that art must have a message or can it be purely decorative?

Art is what you make it. Just like tattoos, you can have meaning behind the tattoo or you can get it just because you like it. It’s all ok.

Do you think posters can change people’s awareness of politics or discrimination or inclusion of people? Can you give an example?

One hundred percent of designing posters is an art communication. We can communicate to an audience, bring awareness to a subject or event, draw new people in and educate. For example, I recently created a reel video on Instagram for Purple Day, which is a day designed to bring awareness to epilepsy and those living with it.

This year I decided to do more than to share just some text that says, “purple day” instead I used the reel to help share education and awareness on, “what to do” if you see someone experiencing an epileptic seizure. This reel spread all over Ontario and Canada, gaining a lot of views and shares.

I had people reaching out to me to thank me for sharing. I thanked them for sharing their personal stories of themselves or their family or children living with epilepsy. It brought the community together. It’s so powerful.

Your Daily Art Practice

Do you practice art every day/week/month?

Everyday.

How does that process look?

Wake up, have a tea and work on my computer for hours. Have lunch, back to work for hours, have dinner and then if there is more freelance work to be done, I continue. Some days I wake up at 6am, and work, and I go to bed at 11pm.

Do you work on one piece at a time or do you have a few projects on the go at once?

Multiple at once. When working on a project I focus in, but I don’t have another different one lined up for when I complete one.

Motivation

Apart from your paid work, what motivates you to begin a new art piece for pleasure for yourself?

I’m motivated to design for myself when I have free time to do so. So, it doesn’t happen too often but I’m hoping to change that soon.

Freelance Work

As a freelance artist, is the up and down flow of work a challenge or do you manage to juggle everything at once?

It can have its challenges for sure, but overall, I have done pretty well with managing my time and not taking on too many projects or clients at once. I’m trying to allow myself more break times in between, but when someone comes calling for some design help, I can’t help myself but jump in, especially for those last-minute requests.

What advice do you have for people thinking about starting a freelance art business?

Just do it! Give it a shot! What are you waiting for?

What is the main challenge when working with clients that you can advise our readers to watch out for?

Every client is different, so every project can be different. Remember that people view good design and bad design completely differently, so never take it personally if someone does like something. It’s a puzzle trying to figure out what they want when they don’t know either, so remember to ask the right questions and have open communication.

Composition

Do you stick with the methods like “the rule of three” or perhaps have another guide when laying out an art piece?

One of the key design principles I rely on is C.R.A.P. which stands for Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Proximity. It might have a funny name, but it’s an incredibly practical framework that helps create designs that are clear, engaging and easy to understand. While it’s not directly based on Gestalt theory, there’s definitely some overlap.

For example, proximity and repetition in C.R.A.P. align closely with how Gestalt theory explains the way people naturally group similar or nearby elements. Both approaches are all about guiding the viewer’s eye and making sure your message comes through effectively. So, whether I’m designing a poster, layout, or social media content, I always keep C.R.A.P. in mind to make sure my work communicates with impact and clarity.

Do you begin with a pencil sketch then take it into Photoshop or Procreate?

Always start with a sketch! And then I move into Adobe Illustrator or InDesign.

Art Challenges

Many of my readers are getting back into art after being away for many years, how do you feel about art challenges like Inktober to help spark creativity?

I love art challenges, it’s always so great to have a prompt in design, it sparks a thought and then you can run with it!

Do you believe in art challenges?

Of course, they are fun and help build community which is what it’s all about.

Sketchbook

Can you share your ideas on the value (or not) surrounding keeping an artist’s sketchbook?

It’s great to have a pen and paper handy at any moment for a quick sketch or thought. It’s wonderful to flip back on years later as well to see what you created and how far you have come.

Medium

What is your current preferred medium and why?

Digital, its where I do most of my work and I love working on a computer. It just comes naturally and is fun. Otherwise in my spare time I love to do a pottery class or throw together a painting.

Where Artists Work

Can you tell us about your home art studio?

I have an office and desk, but I find myself on the couch a lot these days. I’m revamping my office soon so perhaps that will change with my new set up!

Do you prefer natural light or, because you work on a computer, is good lighting enough?

I love working on my computer sitting by a window for sure. It’s much better than being in a room with limited lighting.

What music or podcasts do you listen to while creating?

Music that is emotionally raw, lyrically honest and often blends genres like punk, indie and alternative rap.

Are pets allowed in your studio? Please tell us about them?

Of course, always! We have Maggie the golden labrador who is my design buddy. She always likes to be nearby and is turning thirteen this year!

May we have an image of your desk?

I just packed it up because I am moving, but I will send an updated version of my new desk set up when we meet again!

Pay it Forward

What advice would you give to other hobby artists who might be hesitant to even start art again or pick up a stylus, pen or brush?

You are never too old to start something new, if it brings you joy continue with it, an if you’ve put in time and money and its not bringing you joy anymore, that doesn’t mean you are chained to continue it for life. Just do what makes you happy, it’s ok to change your mind later.

Do you think it is ever too late to start with art?

Never ever.

Contact Details

Website

Website under construction so please visit me on Instagram.

Instagram

I’m on Instagram @PriceDesignStudio

Favorite Supplies List

Claire’s List

Here are some of Claire’s basic art equipment and software and pens pencils etc. that she uses every day.

iPad
Adobe creative cloud suite

Save this pin to read later.

Meet More Artists

Here are a few more artists whom I’ve interviewed to inspire your art practice.

If you know an artist who’d like to be featured here please email me at alisonhazelart@gmail.com.

Artist Interview: Claire

by Alison | May 23, 2025 | Artist Interviews

In this artist interview, get more inspiration and meet Claire, a graphic designer and founder of Price Design Studio.

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Artist Interview: Jules

by Alison | Mar 23, 2025 | Artist Interviews

In this artist interview, meet Jules, a traditional artist based in Toronto, Canada. Her acrylic and watercolour works focus on bringing life and energy to portraits, still lifes, and media.

Artist Interview: Arwynne O’Neill

by Alison | Jan 13, 2025 | Artist Interviews, Living a Creative Life

In this artist interview, meet ARWYNNE O’NEILL an artist and writer from Vancouver, Canada. Arwynne creates fantasy art with goddess themes.

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.

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From Sketchbook to Published Book

by Alison | Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: May 2025

Coastal Inspiration

You may know that I live on the west coast of Canada and I’m pretty close to the beach which I get down to probably once or twice a month. I have sketched many seascapes and features around the coast my most recent one being the concertina sketchbook, but I also did an acrylic over painting of English Bay.

Intertidal Pool

A few months ago, I was working in my grid art sketchbook and on one of the topics I started drawing was of an intertidal pool. An intertidal pool occurs when the high tide comes in and it fills up pockets of water along the beach in amongst the rocks. Then as the tide goes out, the ocean water remains and there are some sea creatures that are caught there, and they must wait in the pool until the next high tide if they want to escape.

Of course, many of these animals live in this beach area anyway. You get organisms like crabs and sea stars, little fish and all sorts of things within these intertidal pools. They are sometimes in amongst the rocks in a small pocket of water along the beach where boulders are as well.

So, back to my sketchbook…

I did six little grid sketches of an intertidal pool. One with a cross-section through the whole thing to see how its lies on the beach. Next, a couple of other views from above and to the side. Then I added a little tangerine sea star.

Sea Star

And if you don’t want to sea star is, it used to be called a starfish, but these days apparently, they are now called sea stars. Which is the correct way to refer to this little 5-pointed (or more) friendly little animal. I continued in my grid art sketchbook doing some more pages, but I kept coming back to this sea star page. Then occurred to me that I could perhaps write a story and make a little children’s book about this little sea star.

The Story

Research

I did a little research and discovered that with children’s books, you have to be in the right age category. For my idea of creating a picture book with perhaps one sentence on each page, I would be in the kid’s age group of three- to seven-year-olds. Now in this clutch, mom is reading to them, and she shows her little darlings the words by pointing with her finger, so it has to be pretty simple. It needs a simple vocabulary, but with a delightful story to it.

Friendship

I probably spent about three to four weeks working on my story. It’s pretty straightforward from an adult perspective, but from a child’s view, it is actually a story about friendship. And to be quite clear, I’ve never done anything like this previously. I’ve never written children’s stories or any fiction whatsoever, but being a hobby artist and creative person, that didn’t stop me.

So, I worked on my story.

Images

Once I had my story 95% completed, I began the layouts for the artwork that would go in the picture book. Now I knew I was going to self-publish this on Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) with Amazon. They have some specific criteria for sizes of the pages and the number of pages which have to be in the book of that size and so on.

Dimensions

To be honest, this is quite a complicated topic, but the instruction are all laid out there on their website and you’ve just got to plow your way through it all. I decided to work on a book that would be 21.5cm by 21.5cm (8 ½” x 8 ½”) which is actually a square.

Page Count

I was required to have at least 48 pages. This meant that I had to do 48 original art pieces, one for each page in the book. Once I had drawn the individual art pieces for each page, I could then add the words, on top of the image.

Procreate

To draw my digital images, I used Procreate on my iPad. This is a hugely popular art app and you can draw things with your Apple pencil which is where I drafted these initial images.

Color Palette

I worked the pages back and forth for quite a few times. Then I decided I need to stabilize my palette to make sure that I was using the same family of colours and repeating things from page to page to page. This is a simple story set on the beach and an intertidal pool.

I didn’t want all of the view points on the pages to be exactly the same, but many of them would be. So, I laid out a few basic backgrounds for myself, with the sky at the top, the sea in the middle, and the beach at the bottom.

Then choosing from my selection of colours I was able to lay in those three main horizontal features of the sky, sea and beach. Next, I did a few more close-ups where I was going to zoom in on my sea star and the things that were going on within the story. At this point I still did not know what I was doing, but I pressed forward anyway. I continued tinkering with the images for the story and by this stage I was adding the one sentence to each page or each double spread.

As not every single page has words on it for example, on a double spread, the words could either be on the left-hand page or the right-hand page. I worked on the words of my story to make sure that it made sense and flowed forward. And I’ll tell you, this process really took a while. I was probably four to six weeks working on this.

Laying out of the whole story, fiddling with the images and making sure that the words were telling the story took time. I wanted to get my tone right and for the story to be friendly, easily read and understood by the children.

Front and Back Matter

Front Matter

I then turned my attention to work on what they call the front matter. This is all the stuff that goes at the front in the book. There are specific things that you must have on this page.

This Book Belongs To

I did an optional “This book belongs to…” page because children love to write their names in their books. In time, when they become beloved books, the readers continuously return to them even later in life.

Title

It has to be the name of the book that matches the listing on Amazon.

Copyright

ISBN Number

An International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is the number of the book, and here you can let Amazon give you a number or you can get your own. My ISBN is 978-1-7389045-1-8. Note: Research this yourself as there are some strings attached to a KDP ISBN number. I got my own ISBN number for this book from Libraries and Archives Canada, but you will no doubt have an institution in your own country that handles ISBN numbers. For example, in the USA it is Bowker for your ISBN numbers.

Back Matter

Blank Pages

At the back of the book there are a couple of pages because there is typically a double blank page at the end of a KDP book anyway. You need to make sure that your book ends correctly.

Characters

Once the story had completed, I added another fun page which listed all the characters who appeared in my book. This page says, “Meet Your Rock Pool Friends.”

My main characters are:

Sandy the sea star.
Crabella the crab.
Fin the Fish.

Here I did a little sketch for each of the characters and wrote their names next to them so the children could learn their names in a different context. It’s a way for the kids to be reminded of who are the creatures in the story. Then the moms can ask things like, “Can you find the crab, can you find the fish?” and it’s another way for the little readers to interact with the book.

More Books in the Series Page: Still Blank

I had planned to finish off with an author’s page listing myself and any other books that were in the series. It suddenly occurred to me that I could do a series of children’s books and maybe have three or five other books related to Sandy, the sea star. Still waiting… The blank page is ready and waiting for additional books to be listed if I ever do any.

Cover

Layout

The cover must be one large image as a PDF that covers the lot. The spine is down the middle, and the front cover part on the right and the back cover section is on the left. There are specifics that are required for your cover. On the front cover, I had the title and a nice friendly image of the star of the story, Sandy the sea star.

Author

The author’s name on the front is optional with KDP, so it’s up to you if you display it or not. I chose to have my name, Alison Hazel.

Back Cover

On the back cover (left side) you must leave a white space for the bar code that Amazon will put on by itself automatically. I wrote a little blurb about what’s in the book, this is a little preamble if you will, a little taste about what’s going on in this book. Next, I had a paragraph about who the book is for which is really for the person who buys the book, i.e. parents, friends, aunts and uncles or bookstore owners. This information is crucial for someone who wants to know if the book will be suitable for little Alex who is turning five next week.

Uploading

Two PDF Files

When you upload your book, you need two files.

One file is the body (manuscript), which is all your pages as one PDF.
The second file is the full cover as a PDF.

Body Upload

So first I uploaded the body of the book. It took a couple of goes because Amazon is very strict about bleed on the edges. Bleed is making sure that the colour goes right to, and beyond, the edge of the page, and here I had to make some adjustments as well. Additionally, I made a few modifications to the actual placement of the words on the page because the cut was very tight. But these are things you learn as you go along.

Cover Upload

The cover upload was something different too. It is difficult to know how thick the book is going to be, and therefore how wide the spine will be and therefore, how to place to the words on the front cover center justified. Now this took quite a bit of fiddling, particularly to align the title of the book on the front cover in the middle.

It took, I don’t want to say how many goes I had, to get this right, but it really depends on how many pages you have, how thick the book is, and therefore how wide the spine is, and consequently how to align the words on the front page as well. So, it was not as tricky on the back (left side) because I have things left justified there and it’s easier to move that text block around.

Timing Approval

This will take time. Every time you upload a manuscript, Amazon chunters through it all and it’s like you’re putting things in a meat grinder. You can go away, make a cup of tea, come back and it’s still working at it. Now obviously they’re overwhelmed with lots of people trying to upload their books at the same time, but really it takes time to get it uploaded. Once I had finally got my body pages file uploaded and I had the cover accepted by the gatekeepers, that was a big step forward.

The next thing was to put all the other information like the pricing, what have you and where you want to sell it on Amazon. You have to click all the buttons and make sure you’re the original author and it’s non copyrighted and all of those little pesky details that Amazon needs to know. So that also takes a little while to get sorted out.

Blurb

At this point you’re also adding your blurb which will show up when people search for children’s books on Amazon. This is a paragraph or two as selling copy.

Publish

When you’ve entered all that information, you can then click through and say, publish. Now, the very first time your masterpiece goes through to publish, it takes at least 48 hours for any approval or comments to come back from Amazon. And I understand that when you are uploading for the first time, as a new author, or when you are uploading a new title such as this was the first time, they actually have a human look at it.

Amazon doesn’t want me to say I’m doing a children’s book about sea stars and inside there’s something about how to make a bomb or something nasty like that.

I believe, they do get a human to go over, or flip through, what you’ve written, what the story is about, what images you have within your book and the actual content of it, which then gets clicked for approval. Finally, you will get an e-mail saying yes, your book was published and it’s all good. Or yes, we checked your book, and you’ve got errors here and there because your pages aren’t right. Or you need to fix the colours going over the edge or something. Or you didn’t choose the right paper, or they can’t do this in glossy or something like that.

Adjustments

Every time from here on in, when you make an adjustment and reupload the book for approval, it takes at least 48 hours to hear back from them. Now the first time it got approved, I flicked through it online and made sure everything was lining up, that I had my words the right way up and the pictures went back to front and everything like that.

I wanted to make sure that my double page spreads were spreading at the right point and not going over the edge to the next page. This all took time. On it went, I uploaded and edited, uploaded and edited and on and on the saga went.

When I thought I’d finally got it right, I was fine. I was flicking through then lo and behold, there was a typo. I had made a spelling mistake, which I hadn’t picked up. So once more I had to get the spelling correct. On the page I’d written sea start, not sea star. I mean, it’s an easy enough error to make and of course my spell checker wouldn’t pick it up because start is a word, even though it was supposed to be star. Then I did a second double check on my spelling, punctuation and the grammar and I went through it with a fine-tooth comb at this point because I couldn’t have it uploaded publicly with a spelling mistake.

I mean, really?

Author Copy

Finally, it was uploaded to my approval and once it is live you can order an author copy. Now the benefit of ordering author copies straightaway that you don’t get charged any profit. It goes on at the at the basic rate, so you get it as cheap as possible at all you’re paying for is the cost for Amazon to manufacture it and the shipping. It gets delivered to you, if you’re lucky, within 10 days.

Customer Copy

But I’ll tell you a trick. If you do order an author copy, there’s a big flag printed across the front of the book that says author copy right across the book, so you can’t really see. Although it’s cheaper and it’s for you to check for your spelling and what not, I find that I don’t like doing it that way. I actually prefer to order a full-blown copy the exact same as a customer would order and see what arrives from Amazon. I ordered my customer copy, sat back and waited. And kudos to Amazon, I would say I had it within three days because you know once they get going, they can get the stuff out to you.

Book In Hand

Delivered

The book arrived.

Faded

Once I got it, I realized that my colours were slightly too faded. I really needed to step up my colour palette, the sky, the sea and the sand were rather muted. That was the one thing.

Paper

The second thing was that the paper that Amazon prints on is rather thin and there’s not much you can do about that because that’s the paper they are using. So, I thought, I’d have to live with it, what can I do? I made the book as a softcover, a paperback, and that was fine.

The cover was fine, it was smooth and glossy and everything, but again the colours were quite muted. Now, if I wanted to step up these muted shades to a more vibrant colour palette, I would have to go through every single art piece for every page for all the 48 pages and adjust the colours. I asked myself, “Do I want to do this?” I hummed and hawed and I thought, well, yes, I need to fix it because it wasn’t working.

I had to go back to the drawing board and adjust all the colours for all 48 images in Procreate. Then once more I uploaded each page image into my master PDF document. This took time. When I was ready with the final colours, I once more reuploaded the manuscript, a new cover then I ordered another customer copy. The book duly arrived, and I was quite delighted with it.

Final Thoughts

First Copy

When I got the second book in hand, I was able to show it to my daughters because they knew I was working on something, but they hadn’t seen it. They were amazed that their old mom had done this and honestly, so was I. Fun at the Rockpool with Sandy Sea Star is never going to be a best seller, it’s not that sort of book. What it did do was offer another creative outlet for me as a hobby artist. It’s an extra way for me to put my art and my ideas out into the world.

Series

Will I make a little series of these books? Well, to start with I thought that was exactly what I would do, but as time has gone on, clearly, I’m not going to create another one soon. Honestly, I don’t see my future in children’s books.

Genesis

Takeaway

But what I want you to take away from this long story of my process is that it all began in my sketchbook. As you perhaps know, I have multiple sketchbooks which I use for different things, but this is the first time any image from one of my sketchbooks has developed into something else. It grew into a children’s coloured picture book.

Original Sketches

If I had of spoken to you about this before this ever began, I would have suggested that I might have done a sketch and then made it as the basis for a painting. So, here’s the sketch in the sketchbook. I think, “Yes, that’s my concept art. Let me now move on and do the actual painting.” That’s what I thought would have happened. But what did occur was that I took my six grid art journal page and used it almost as a storyboard. I was able to flesh out the grid into a story for my children’s book.

The Path

I think it just goes to show that, even as a hobby artist, you never know where your art is going to go. You never know where the journey is going once you start putting pen to paper and you’re sketching, painting, creating or collaging to create something beautiful. I mean, do you have to kiss 1000 frogs to find your prince?

Daily Art Practice

The point is that with daily art practice and working in your sketchbooks, as I encourage you to, something beautiful could grow from one of your images as well. I don’t know what it will be, and I had no idea I was going to do a children’s book. It was not on my horizon at all when I started, but it developed, it seemed the logical thing to do and once I started, I just pushed on.

Images

I’ve showed you several images from this book.

Just a reminder, this book is called Fun at the Rockpool with Sandy Sea Star by Alison Hazel. It is available on Amazon, and you can see the type of work I have done as my very first children’s picture book. Who knows what the future will bring?

Overarch

Sketchbooks

I encourage you to use sketchbooks, do your art as often as you can and lean into your creative life. I believe all humans are creative and it’s good for the soul. I’d be interested to know if any of your sketches from your sketchbooks have leaped off the page to become something unique in their own right. I would love to hear from you.

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More For You

To see past editions of Artzlife, read the library.

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

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Concertina Sketchbook

by Alison | Sketchbooks and Journals

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: April 2025

Concertina Sketchbook: Vancouver Seawall

There are many types of sketchbooks and I’ve spoken about a few here. This week I’m chatting about a fabulous architectural sketchbook which I’ve recently completed and that is a concertina sketchbook. This is not likely to be the first sketchbook you get, but it is definitely a fun one.

Concertina Sketchbook

A concertina sketchbook is one long continuous page folded into a concertina fashion. It has a hard cover at both ends. They are also called accordion sketchbooks, zig zag sketchbooks or continuous sketchbooks.

Video

You can see the process video below .

This is where I talk you through everything that I did to create this special concertina sketchbook.

Sketchbook

Concertina

I ordered my A5 concertina sketchbook from Seawhite on Amazon. It was shipped from the UK and arrived in about four weeks. To be honest, I’d forgotten that I’d ordered it until it arrived. But when it did, oh my…

It has two pages sandwiched together back-to-back and you can draw on both sides if you want to. The paper is watercolor quality so it is super robust for most applications. It comes in a handy dandy cover to contain the spring of it all.

Process

Map and Layout

There may be other ways of using this type of sketchbook, but I’ll tell you how I did it. I live in Vancouver and the city lies on a peninsular with water on 60% of the sides. To help you understand what I sketched, here is a map of the Vancouver city peninsular. You can see that there is a lot of coast that wraps around the downtown core. The rest of Vancouver and the suburbs is south or below.

Topic Selection

I decided to draw the whole sea scape, sea wall and or promenade of the coast looking outwards as seen from the city side of the water. There are multiple bridges and these were how I initially paced the pages in the layout. I’m drawing it clockwise from the Science World sphere and choosing only certain features to add. The arrangement of the pages took some time as I wanted the flow to be as balanced as possible.

Concertina Path

The red dotted line shows the path that aligns with the concertina pages. I’m on the mainland looking out towards the sea.

Pencil Sketch

Layout

First, I sketched out the layout for the coast with my 2H pencil.

Front Page

I left room for an open page at the front, like a frontispiece page, and here I wrote the year I started it, 2024.

Back Page

I only finished it in 2025 so I wrote that date there. I still have some more thoughts to write and these ideas will go on the back page.

Black Pen

Thin to Thicker

When I was happy with the penciled layout, I began inking the drawing. I started with a very thin 0.1mm pen to lightly get the outline of horizon and the hills across the water. Then I moved onto a 0.3mm pen for the foreground bridges, the lighthouse and the other main structures along the coast. For some buildings very close up I used a thicker 0.5mm pen.

The penning took ages and I did it over several weeks as I was not rushing at all. After I was happy with the inking, I erased all the pencil marks.

Colored Ink

I began with colored acrylic inks. I used my Windsor and Newton inks. Inks are less forgiving than watercolors, but I wanted to practice more with this medium. I’d done other ink sketches and swatches before. I began with the lightest colors first and I began on the sea.

I used:

Blue
Emerald
Cobalt

I thinly washed the whole book on the sea part using a combination of the three inks colours which I have, emerald, cobalt and blue. Then I spread the whole thing out to dry.

Pages

Structure

In my sketchbook, I designed it so that each open double spread contains one specific feature be it a bridge, boat, the lighthouse or the nin o’clock gun. I made sure to run each double spread image over the edge of the page, so you are encouraged to turn the page or indeed open up the concertina to see the whole picture. In this way it become an interactive book and like an adventure.

Ideas for Using a Concertina Sketchbook

Horizontal Drawing

Ideally a concertina sketchbook lends itself to a long horizontal drawing. Some examples of this are:

You could do a city street with rows or buildings and trees and so in
You could a 360° landscape from the top of a hill.
You could do a full circle of your own garden and house and include all the buildings, the potting shed, garage, greenhouse and fishpond or whatever fun features you have in your back yard.

A Seasonal Frieze

Use the concertina sketchbook to capture the changing seasons throughout the year. Start in January and divide the book up before you start into twelve months so you can add the natural changes as the seasons develop. Like a nature journal,

Tell a Story

You can tell a story. Perhaps tell the story of your family and your life or a more well-known story from a part of history that interests you. For example, the Bayeux tapestry tells the story of the events which led up to the invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

Record your Travels

If you are going on a long journey, or a one-off world cruise, your concertina sketchbook can be a record of your activities. As a timeline, you can use the length and divide it up into the days or weeks of your great travel adventure. Note what you did and where you went on separate double page spreads. The story of your epic voyage will be from the start to the end.

Honeymoon

Perhaps you decide to go to New Zealand for a fortnight on your honeymoon (as my friend did), then you can capture the main highlights of the trip in your concertina sketchbook. This then becomes a part of your wedding memories and can be enjoyed in years to come by your kids and other family members.

Color

Colored Pencils

Over the next few days, I started to use my Faber Castell polychromas coloured pencils. I started really with the buildings in shades of grey, cool greys and warm greys and some beiges. I went through the concertina and did all the buildings first. Then I started on the trees and used several different colours of green to work through the trees as I flipped through the sketchbook.

Once I’d picked up one colour of green in my hand, I went through the whole book with that colour. Then I started back at the beginning and took a lighter green and continued on in that way. It took a while. Quite a while.

Markers

Wanting to bring some other features into higher focus, I chose to use some of my Tombow markers to add definition to some of the actual features. Features like the lighthouse, the Totem poles and The Drop and some of the boats and so on. I want to say it was sparingly that I went through and added richer colour with markers. I spent several days tinkering away with details and in some places going back in with my black ink pen to more clearly defined the foreground features as I thought best.

The Sun

I did originally create the Sun in yellow as it was setting over English Bay. The reason I colored the Sun in that way, fading onto shades of pinks, mauves into blues, was that I just didn’t want the whole sky just to be blue from one end to the other. I was trying to show a little bit of interest, changing the sky as well as I had done with the sea, working with the different colours of inks. I attempted to show some clouds as well just to add extra interest.

Is It Finished?

Nearly

Now when I got to this stage, I was pretty happy with how this sketchbook was looking. It did occur to me that I will probably tinker with this concertina sketchbook of the Vancouver Seawall. I may perhaps even fiddle for a few more weeks, adding bits and bobs, bringing more features to life and adding a bit more colour here and there.

Almost

I think the real question is when is an art piece finished? This concertina is not quite finished yet. I realize that, but I wanted to show you how I’ve created it and the potential for using concertina sketchbooks overall.

Overarch

Annually

Using a concertina sketchbook is not likely to be something that I will do all the time. I perhaps will do another one next year if I find a suitable subject. Overall, I love how this Vancouver seascape has turned out. Not everything in the sketchbook is to scale, but rather there is a good representation of the whole seaboard that surrounds the city.

The Future

I’ve already ordered my next concertina sketchbook, so I’ll have it ready for when the urge presents itself. I can’t wait…

Over To You

Have you used a concertina sketchbook? What would you draw in one? I’d love to hear from you.

References

Photo Credits

Lions Gate Bridge photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

Granville Island photo by Mia de Jesus on Unsplash

Burrard Bridge photo by Jorge Ramirez on Unsplash

Siwash Rock photo by Brandon Brown on Unsplash

Brockton Lighthouse photo by Willian Justen de Vasconcellos on Unsplash

Totem Poles photo by Itsuka Iwaki on Unsplash

9 O’clock Gun photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash

Float Planes photo by Aditya Chinchure on Unsplash

The Drop photo by Pascal Bernardon on Unsplash

Port Vancouver photo by Ronin on Unsplash

Canada Place photo by Lauren Kan on Unsplash

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Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

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Liquitex heavy body acrylics

Join me as I sketch, draw and paint a weird autumn themed knobby gourd using colored ink as a hobby artist.

Artist Interview: Jules

by Alison | Artist Interviews

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: March 2025

Our Conversation

This time I have something really special for you and I was delighted to meet with and interview an exceptional artist and friend of mine, Jules, from Toronto, Canada. Jules creates a lot of portraiture alongside some still life paintings. She explores themes of universal understanding and shared experiences. Her favorite medium is watercolour, though she creates most of her work in acrylic as watercolours take a lot more concentration and focus. She is self-taught and is fascinated by the intricacies or colour and representation.

Welcome Jules.

Genesis

What was the earliest inkling that art would be big in your life?

Art has always been important. It’s one of the most consistent things we as humans strive to create. I always loved everything arty, from picture books I read to cartoons I watched as a kid. When something resonates with you, you have to follow it.

Inspiration

Are there any past artists from whom you draw your inspiration?

Alphonse Mucha and Saul Bass.

Who is your favorite artist?

Martine Johanna.

Do you think inspiration is all around us or is it something that has to be consciously brought into focus?

I think inspiration is everywhere but if you don’t have the capacity or mental energy to lean into it when you have it, it can be flighty.

Why do you paint?

Because it makes me happy. It’s intrinsic and simple and so very obviously something I like to do. So I do it.

Galleries and Events

Do you visit art exhibitions and events and which ones would you recommend to my readers for inspiration?

I recommend visiting your local city’s art college and university grad expo days. Each school will have an exhibition each year showcasing their graduating classes’ art and it’s one of the best (and free) ways to be inspired by local artists just starting out.

Are you likely to attend galleries when visiting other cities as a matter of course?

Always. I’ve never stayed in a city too long before visiting the museums and galleries.

Which galleries do you recommend in Toronto?

The AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario), The ROM (Royal Ontario Museum), The Latcham Art Gallery in Stouffville.

Movement

What is your favorite art movement and why?

The impressionists did so much for art, I can’t imagine another movement impacting me as strongly as that one did.

Color

Would you say you have your own palette of colors that you return to each time?

Yes. I’m always using Prussian blue with Phthalo green and neon pink. I never go without a cad yellow and some alizarin crimson. Opera Rose, especially watercolour, is one the greats.

Opera rose

Daily Art Practice

Do you practice art every day/week/month?

No. I fit it into my busy life whenever it strikes, though.

How does that process look?

Striking while the iron is hot is most important for me. I tend to have a small window of opportunity in which to plan and paint something and, just to make things interesting, I also have a small attention span for topics, so moving quickly is very key in making my art happen.

Do you work on one art piece at a time or do you have a few on the go at once?

One at a time.

Motivation

What motivates you to begin a new piece?

Inspiration is usually all I need to get the ball rolling. Sounds simple and easy to pin down, but it isn’t.

Composition

Do you always draft out your composition or do you ever wing it?

I draw sketches first to get the composition and hierarchy in order before I plan out what colours will work best. Then using the grid system, I map out my subject on the canvas or board. I’m getting better at not rushing this process. Most importantly, underpaintings have become critical.

Art Challenges

Many of my readers are getting back into art after being away for many years, how do you feel about art challenges to help spark creativity?

I think they’re great. Anything that helps a person practise is worth the effort.

Sketchbook

Can you share your ideas on the value in keeping an artist’s sketchbook?

Sketchbooks are very important. They show progress over time because as you practice, you get better. It’s nice to see evidence of this progress when looking back.

Medium

What is your current preferred medium and why?

Acrylic. It dries quickly, so I can fix my mistakes easily.

I understand you prefer to work on wooden panels. Can you tell us why you like wood panels? And what to look for in those?

I like wood panels because I prefer a sturdy, flat surface over the give of a canvas. When buying panels, I make sure they’re properly attached in all four corners. Some will bend and warp if they’re not securely glued.

Where Artists Work

Can you tell us about your home art studio?

It’s small. Just a table and an easel. Storage is key to keeping it tidy.

What about the light?

I use clamps LED lamps to keep my work well-lit when painting (I tend to work at night).

What music or podcasts do you play while painting?

I listen to all kinds of audiobooks while painting. Currently listening to Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe.

Your easel?

I have a DeSerres brand Le Marc Easel.

May we have an image of your art palette?

Pay it Forward

What advice would you give to other hobby artists who might be hesitant to even start art again or pick up a pen or brush?

The reason to start is because you want to. Starting now vs. starting later is up to you, but the time will pass anyway, so why not up your skills, practise and then see yourself grow in the art space you love so much?

Contact Details

Instagram

I’m on Instagram @PeachesArtStudio

Favorite Supplies List

Jules’ favorite art supplies which she uses most.

Amsterdam acrylics

Winsor and Newton watercolours

Nobel art brushes

Raphael brushes

Strathmore paper and sketchbooks

Staedtler pencils

Prismacolor colour pencils

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Meet More Artists

Here are a few more artists whom I’ve interviewed to inspire your art practice.

If you know an artist who’d like to be featured here please email me at alisonhazelart@gmail.com.

Artist Interview: Claire

by Alison | May 23, 2025 | Artist Interviews

In this artist interview, get more inspiration and meet Claire, a graphic designer and founder of Price Design Studio.

« Older Entries

Artist Interview: Jules

by Alison | Mar 23, 2025 | Artist Interviews

In this artist interview, meet Jules, a traditional artist based in Toronto, Canada. Her acrylic and watercolour works focus on bringing life and energy to portraits, still lifes, and media.

Artist Interview: Arwynne O’Neill

by Alison | Jan 13, 2025 | Artist Interviews, Living a Creative Life

In this artist interview, meet ARWYNNE O’NEILL an artist and writer from Vancouver, Canada. Arwynne creates fantasy art with goddess themes.

Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Neurographic Art Grid Journal Page

Grid Art Journal

As a hobby artist, you can practice some NEUROGRAPHIC ART in your GRID ART JOURNAL to loosen up before you start a bigger piece.

Weird Gourds – Colored Ink Art

Join me as I sketch, draw and paint a weird autumn themed knobby gourd using colored ink as a hobby artist.

Neurographic Art Grid Journal Page

by Alison | Grid Art Journal

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: March 2025

Neurographic Art

About three years ago I came across the technique of neurographic art. When you see neurographic art you’ll realize that we’ve been doing all along, but since Pavel Piskarev coined the phrase and put it out there, it became clearer on how to use neurographic art in your art practice.

For a quick overview, neurographic art is a practice you can do which brings focused thought to the art piece on which you are working. In a way, it’s almost like a meditation or therapeutic art piece. Neurographic art can be as simple or as complex as you like, and you can add embellishments as well to the piece. I created a basic neurographic art explainer video if you need a little more.

Artist Trading Cards

Around two years ago I did some work with artist trading cards and I used the neurographic. method for them which was quite a lot of fun. I still have some of these cards and because they’re trading cards, you trade them with other artists. Since then I’ve probably traded five or six cards, but I still do have half of the full twelve pack with me.

Then towards the end of last year, I started working with grid art journaling, where you get six blocks on the page, or different shapes on the page, such as hearts and so on. This week it occurred to me that I should do a neurographic grid art journal page, so that’s what we’re doing this time.

What’s on Your Mind

Question Wrangling

One of the benefits of doing neurographic art is that it calms your mind. This is done if you have a troublesome question or decision that you have to make. Say for instance, your question maybe, “Should you move and downsize to a smaller apartment?”

Moving house is a huge decision to be made of which there may be many permutations, such as:

I’ll miss my garden…
Will I like living in a high rise…
I’ll have to get a new job, but it’s in a bigger city, therefore the chances are better…
What about the children’ school…
Perhaps I’ll have to put the dog in a kennel for a week…
Then there’s the moving truck fees…
I’ll have to find a new church…
I’ll have to go to a new yoga studio…
Will my fabulous cat, Mr. Pickles, run away, or get lost…
Will I make new friends…

Ruminating

Life’s questions can be complicated, but these are the ideal ones to pose as you do neurographic art in any form. Your question doesn’t have to be complicated and in fact, it doesn’t have to be a question at all, but it could just be something that you are ruminating on. Perhaps it’s about what happened yesterday or a conversation you had last week and you’re just trying to clear your mind. This is the time to do some neurographic art. Let’s get started.

Blank Page

On Your Mind

If you do have a question or something you’re ruminating on or something that’s been worrying you, before you start, write this down either at the bottom of the page or on the back of the actual artwork. It doesn’t have to be complicated. You could just put the words “move?” or “new job” or anything which is troubling you for which you want to try and find some resolution.

I’m not saying that you’re going to have the answer at the end of it, but your thought processes of creating this neurographic art and the alignment of the synapses that occur in your brain as you think will possible provide fresh ideas for you. The idea is that this neurographic art technique will ease your mind and benefit your mental health.

Draw the Grid

2:3

For this grid page I went back to basics and chose the two by three (2:3) 5cm or 2-inch squares in my A5 sketchbook. As a reminder, you can check out how to set up a grid art journal page with six blocks in this manner.

Circles

Start with some circles and you can use a template for this or do it freehand. As I wanted to lay them out in some type of compositional form within the block I did each of the circles a different size. In each of the blocks, I sketched one or two circles lightly with my 2H pencil.

Neurographic Lines

Inside each of the blocks, I drew one or two neurographic lines going from one edge through to the second edge as by now you know that neurographic lines never dangle. These lines break up the six blocks into smaller sections, as we will see later.

Inner Corners

Next comes the fun part where you start with your black ink. I used a 0.3mm black pen, but you can used whatever pen you have to hand and it doesn’t have to be black. Curve in each of the corners and so for the four corners on each block I curved them in. I used about a 3mm radius here for each corner arc. If the curves are too thin the piece looks kind of spindly. So those are the four corners neatly rounded.

Intersections

Then I turned my attention to the intersections where two lines cross, or where a neurographic line overlaps with a circle, or where two circles meet. Anywhere where two lines cross each other will be an intersection, and every crossing needs to be curved. If your lines are very close together, you will end up with a very small blob shape and that’s okay. Depending on the angle at which the two lines come together, the junction might be quite whopping as well, and that’s acceptable too.

No Rush

Inking the intersections is the stage where you are mentally getting into the zone, finding your flow state and contemplating the question or issue which you put before yourself earlier. Take your time here, there is no rush. In fact, I took a full day from starting the curves on these corners and intersections and then I left my sketchbook overnight.

Returning to it the next day I could see the page with fresh eyes and was able to find the bits I wanted to smooth out further. I really didn’t like some of the pointy looking corners I had, so I smoothed out my curves even deeper and in this way laid down more black ink on the sheet.

Pattern

Now you have a page with several open squidgy areas, also known as blobs, and here you can definitely get creative. You can add patterns like swirls, zigzags or waves as you see fit. For guidance use your intuition and don’t feel the need to overdo it. To have one focal point (blob) in each block is a good idea. Try to think back to the issue you posed before you began and let your thoughts run on that path and create new tracks.

Colour

The next step is to add some color in the open shapes. Only as your art piece evolves can you decide on color. If you make the page too busy with multiple patterns and colors it can become somewhat of a blur overall. I like to use a limited color palette when I’m working on such small sketches like in this grid art journal page. This time I chose pinks and greens.

Embellishments

But wait, there’s more! Now you can add some embellishments if you like. I typically add some flourishes of gold pen here and there and that seems to be enough for me, but you could collage some sequins, ribbons or other trimmings if you like. It’s up to you.

Creating Grid Art Pages

Why

I think that the practice of creating grid art journal pages in your sketchbook has two main benefits and it could have more if I thought about it longer.

Practice Art

The first benefit is that it gets you doing daily art practice and you keep sketching your art in your style. I do like the idea of doing the weekly or daily art practice. This is why I love using my grid art journal sketchbook and you can get a peek inside.

Concept Art

The second reason to work on your grid art journal pages is as micro concept art ideas. In general, concept art is a form of visual storytelling used to convey ideas before the final work is developed and is a process which allows creators to experiment with ideas quickly. With concept art the goal is to capture the essence of a concept, ensuring a clear and cohesive vision. It’s a way that something which evolves in one of your blocks, in one of your grids, on one of your pages, may one day be the genesis for a larger drawing or painting piece which you can later develop further. Clearly, not everything you doodle in our grid art journal is going anywhere, but some of it can.

Last year I took one of my grid art journal pages and developed it into the illustrations for a children’s book which I’ll explain more about one day. And to be perfectly honest, of all the sketches I’ve done in my grid art journal pages, only the sea star page did develop into something further. Although I have taken a couple of the sketches that came through my grid art journal page earlier and created larger images which I’ve used on greeting cards and you can check out more of those in my art shop.

Overarch

Let Me Know

Let me know if you’ve tried grid art journaling or if you tried neurographic art at all and how you are getting on.

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Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you.

Sketchbook African Violet Ink Wash

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Perpetual Sketch Journal:

by Alison | Sketch Journal

Author: Alison Hazel – Updated: February 2025

Your Perpetual Sketch Journal

A Visual Time Capsule of Your Life

As someone who tends to spend a lot of time sketching and writing and making a combination of the two through sketch journaling, grid art journaling and travel journaling, I now find myself wanting to share with you my perpetual sketch journal, which is something that I began last year. I happened to receive a blank A4 art sketchbook (similar to this one) from one of my daughters last Christmas.

Obviously, I was thrilled because the potential in a blank sketchbook makes my heart sing. Then I wondered what to do with it. As I flicked through it, I noticed that there were more than 52 pages, so immediately I thought gosh, I could do 52 sketches, one for each week of the year.

Then it occurred to me that I could do a perpetual sketch journal, very similar to my perpetual nature journal which I’ve spoken about in the past. So, I converted this new blank, pristine journal into my perpetual sketch journal.

.

What Is a Perpetual Sketch Journal?

Diary or Journal

A perpetual sketch journal is a unique way to record your life, one small drawing at a time. Unlike a regular sketchbook, that you fill up from the front to the back, this journal is structured to record little weekly illustrations over multiple years, allowing you to later revisit and reminisce over past moments.

Imagine flipping back to the same page next year and seeing what you were doing on that exact week in previous years. It is a way to create an almost visual time capsule of your artistic and personal journey.

Sketchbook

Sketchbooks to Choose

Select a durable sketchbook with enough pages to last multiple years. You need a journal that has at least 52 double spreads. A double spread is when the book is open and there is a left-hand page and a right-hand page. Choose a book with thick, high-quality paper that works well with most mediums including watercolor if that’s what you use.

Sketchbooks to Avoid

Avoid thin and see-through paper as those pages won’t stand up to the test of time. This is not the time for a newsprint or tracing paper book as that type of paper is way too thin. I mean, let’s face it, ideally you will keep this journal for years to come and maybe even for the rest of your life, so you need pages with paper that can take it.

Sketchbook Sizes

When I started, I just happened to have the gifted A4 size sketchbook and that was the one I used. But if I had to choose again, I may probably select an A5 (5″ x 8″) size because they are easier to handle and they sit better on the shelf, but I mean, that’s no criteria for choosing your sketchbook. Or is it?

Art Supplies

About art supplies, I’m always of the opinion that you already have what you need. There is never the requirement for anyone to go out to buy more art supplies, but of course we as artists love doing so. I believe you already have all the pencils, pens, markers, crayons and paints that you need to start working in your perpetual sketch journal.

And let’s not use the excuse that, “Oh, I don’t have a red marker, therefore I cannot begin!”

No, no, no, reach for your pen, there’s bound to be one somewhere so check in the kitchen drawer, and start with your creative sketching straight away.

Recommended Materials

These are the art supplies that I use in my perpetual sketch journal.

2H pencil.
A fine-tip pen (0.3mm nib) for sketching details
Colored pencils, watercolor paints, or markers for adding life to my sketches
I’d like to have a simple date stamp or pen for marking each year’s entry

Dividing The Pages

So you’ve got your blank sketchbook. There is at least 52 double spread pages available and now we’re going to divide the book up. There are two ways (well actually probably many more ways) of doing this. In general, you can either do it weekly or monthly.

Weekly Layout

With a weekly layout you would go through the year, going week one, week two, week three, week four. For instance, on your week one double spread you would write there January the 1st to 7th. The next double spread will be January 8th to 14th and the next one will be January 15th to 21st. In this way you get through all 52 weeks and each week has its own double spread. I started off this way and then moved on to naming the months.

Monthly Layout

The second way of dividing your book if you have slightly more than 52 double spreads is to divide it into 12 months. So here for example, you could open five double spreads per month. So that would be 5 x 12 which is 60 in this case if you had 60 double page spreads. You could definitely work the months and give each month 5 double spreads each because some months will have 4 weeks and some will have 5 weeks and each year is different.

Another way to get around this is just to count out four double page spreads per month. So that would be 4 x 12 which is 48 double page spreads and you could just squeeze the last week on the half a page. But either way, you need to get your book divided before you start. One benefit of segmenting the book into months is that you can then do a special monthly introductory page and colour it in say, April, May or June and make a whole embellished monthly page if you like.

Creating Yearly Sections

Annual Segments

The way I’ve been using my perpetual sketch journal is just by drawing a small sketch for the week. I’ve simply plonked these drawings about the spreads as I’ve gone through the book. However, if you want to get more organized, you could grid the whole page out and say this is 2025 and that’s 2026 and that’s 2027. But I think that might be a little rigid, but it may work for some of you.

So just to be clear, you don’t have to fill the whole page with a sketch for the week. You need to leave space on each page for the multiple years of sketches still to come. Then in time, you can look back over your sketchbook, perhaps to a particular week and you can see, “Oh, last year I was doing this, the year before I was doing that, and five years ago we were doing the next thing.”

How to Use Your Perpetual Sketch Journal

Draw One Illustration a Week

Each week, draw a small, simple mini sketch which is a snapshot of something that stood out to you in that week. It could be:

A cup of coffee from a cozy café visit.
A flower blooming in your garden.
Your cat curled up in a funny position.
A street scene from your daily walk.
An agreeable lunch you shared with a friend.
A weekend away.
Annual celebrations and birthdays.
The light pouring in through your window.

Spark Creativity and Reflection

Using Prompts

If you’re unsure what to draw, you can use prompts to guide you. Here are a few ideas:

Seasonal changes: Sketch something that represents the current season.
Daily rituals: Capture something from your morning or evening routine.
Favorite objects: Draw an item that holds meaning for you that week.
Unexpected moments: Document a surprise or special event.

Capturing Everyday Moments

What to Sketch?

Don’t overthink it! Your journal is a personal record, not a masterpiece. Focus on small, meaningful details from your life.

Example: The Tea Lady

Helen Houghton

I recently came across a video on YouTube about an artist, Helen Houghton, who drew tea, tea sets, teacups and teapots all year. I’ll put a link to her video here so you can see that tea was her subject for her weekly art.

The Benefits of Your Perpetual Sketch Journal

Artistic Growth

The idea is that looking back over the years you can not only see what you were doing, but also how your artistic style and skills have developed. You can reflect on past sketches that will reveal how your drawing skills and techniques evolved over time. I believe it’s a rewarding way to witness personal artistic progress without the pressure.

A Personal Archive

Bearing in mind that, I’ve only been doing this for just on 14 months, I suppose in a way the ideal will be that it will be your legacy.

Edith Holden

I think it may be like a visual diary of my life, very much like nature journaling can be, and I’m particularly thinking about The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden whose marvelous book has inspired me no end. Not that I’m saying I’m in Edith’s class at all, but what I’m saying is that yours and mine works will live on after you and I are long gone as our legacies.

Your perpetual sketchbooks can be left for your family or your grandchildren to say, “Hey, this is what she was like, this is what interested her and it’s so interesting that we still have some records of her work.”

Leonardo da Vinci

I always like to use the example of how Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches have stood the test of time. We can still see what he was doing and thinking about at the time, and this, from an artist who was sketching over 500 years ago. Each sketch holds a memory, making your journal an invaluable visual diary. Unlike traditional written journals, your sketches capture feelings and experiences in a way that words sometimes can’t.

Building a Consistent Sketching Habit

Weekly-ish

By committing to just one small drawing a week, you’ll establish a sustainable creative routine that doesn’t feel overwhelming, but keeps your artistic practice alive.

Making It a Relaxing Weekly Ritual

I suggest that you choose a set time each week to sketch, perhaps on Sunday evenings with a cup of tea. Treat your mini sketch as a mindful, enjoyable practice rather than a chore.

What to Do If You Miss a Week

No guilt, just keep going. Life happens. If you miss a week, don’t stress, rather just move forward. During last year I was quite ill for a while, and I missed several weeks, but that doesn’t matter because this year I’ll be able to capture my weekly images and move forward. You can always leave the space blank or add a quick doodle to fill the gap.

Reviewing Past Years

Inspiration and Reflection

It’s only over time that your perpetual sketch journal will become a rich tapestry of past experiences. The longer you work at it, the better it becomes. Revisiting old pages can spark new ideas, remind you of forgotten moments and serve as a visual representation of how much you’ve grown artistically.

Overarch

Start Today!

A perpetual sketch journal is a low-pressure, rewarding way to track your artistic journey while capturing moments from your life. Even if you don’t do other types of sketch journaling, nature journaling, travel journaling or bullet journaling to have a perpetual sketch journal where you only do one sketch a week might be a great entry level sketchbook to help you develop your artistic habit.

This practice can bring joy, creativity and mindfulness into your weekly routine. Start today, and in a few years, you’ll have a beautiful collection of full color memories and artistic growth to look back on!

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Author Bio: Alison Hazel

Alison Hazel is a hobby artist and she shares her ongoing journey about becoming an artist later in life. She creates simple art that anyone can make. She hopes to inspire you to reach your creative potential in the area that suits you. Read more about Alison’s story. Get her newsletter.

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