Sketchbook Prompt #17 - Pop Ups, cut outs and fold outs!

Sketchbook Prompt #17

Something I look for in my sketchbook is a way to build connections throughout it’s entirety. I look for connections and patterns not only in the visual associations I make, but also in the ideas that I see are coming through. I like to think that each page lends itself to the next, they are not separate but a springboard to the next thought or action. When I create pop ups, cut outs or windows, this very act allows for the connections to be instantly seen and acknowledged. You are now seeing the next page through the controlled opening, and in that are connecting those pages together. Another reason I do this is because I’m always thinking about the potential for a series, how do we make work harmonious and different.

How to begin:

If you have never made a cut out parts of your sketchbook before you want to be sure that the paper is thick enough to do so. This is a Strathmore 400 mixed media 64 page sketchbook and the paper is a good thickness for this type of experiment. It is thick enough to hold the shape without being to floppy. I create shapes that I find in nature, so I have a page where I cut out those shapes from the page, used them elsewhere in a collage, outlined them in silver paint and allowed the patterns from both side to interact with each other as you flip the page. I use a box cutter and a healing matte cutting board to be sure I didn’t cut the paper underneath accidentally. If you don’t have a healing matte board you could use an old magazine.

Fold outs- another great way to introduce connections is to create a door to the other page. Decide what shape you want, I choose a square, I traced the shape onto the paper and then only cut out the bottom three sides, not the top line that connects it to the paper. You need there to be a hinge, if you mess up you can always turn your door into a cutout. I like to collage the door as to have it interact with the pages in a different way. For this sketchbook I am mostly using my own cut outs for collage materials.

Pop Ups - I was thinking about how I enjoy how the bouquet floral paintings I create tend to exceed their height, as if they were real they wouldn’t handle being that tall, so I thought about how I could do that in the sketchbook and a pop up seemed fitting. What I did was cut out a seperate sheet of paper that was the same width but much taller. I folded a hinge, and glued it down. I then drew on the paper to create the extension of the floral bouquet. I wanted it to grow and fall so I played with both sides, trying to encapuslate that difference. On the other side I made a little pop up that folds up on a tiny hinge. There is holds a poem, “Color Makes time, Summer returns, The pulse pushes pas the mineral that roots me”. You could do a number of different pop ups, but you will want to check out paper hinges, they can be helpful and super easy when approaching this.