Life’s Roller Coaster & Sketchbook Skool

Riding the Roller Coaster of Life

At the end of January, 2014 my world was turned upside down as I suddenly found myself in the midst of a miscarriage. After a period of initial devastation I managed to make three decisions that changed my life: I put my full trust in God’s plan for my life, I resigned from my stressful teaching career to get my priorities straight, and I took the plunge and signed up for the first semester of Sketchbook Skool. Over the course of the past three months my husband and I have gone through a roller coaster of emotions and doubts. With encouragement from family and friends, a positive outlook, and the therapeutic side effect of Sketchbook Skool we’re healing, finding peace, and discovering who we are and what it means to be happy in this world.

Sketchbook Skool: Kourse 1.1 Week #1

I almost talked myself out of signing up for Sketchbook Skool (“It’s too much money.”, “What if I’m not talented enough?”, “What if I don’t stick with it?”…). That would’ve been a HUGE mistake and I’m so grateful that I took a leap of faith and signed up! I’ve loved art, crafts, and writing since I was a kid with a wild imagination, but as I grew older life got in the way. Sketchbook Skool was exactly what I needed to renew my passion for art and to figure out how to incorporate art into my life.

Recap of week #1:

  • Teacher: Danny Gregory
  • Theme: New beginnings. We are all creative. Draw what you see. Document your life.
  • Homework: Get supplies. Document your week.
  • My reaction: THIS IS AWESOME! The Sketchbook Skool kommunity is full of energetic and encouraging artists from around the world. Getting a glimpse into Danny Gregory’s sketchbooks and hearing his philosophy about art was priceless. Although, my inner critic was in full swing…at first I was very nervous to tackle the blank pages in my sketchbook, let alone post my work for others to see! But, I did it and I survived!

My sketches from week #1:

1601970_10104258260029685_7216462996670227367_o

Cover page for my Sketchbook Skool journal.

1980204_10104258678061945_1776565877952750467_o

Sketch of my dog’s chew bones.

10259219_10104260876616025_1728909546262166838_o

The view adjacent to the park near my house.

IMG_0886

Left: Sketch of a coaster. Right: Sketch of a local coffee shop.

Thanks for checking out my blog and I hope you’ll come back!

11 thoughts on “Life’s Roller Coaster & Sketchbook Skool”

  1. Hi, Jamie. Stopped by after Skool. How exciting to be at the beginning! I find a blog to be a wonderful tool and a marvelous window on the world. Congratulations on inaugurating this project!

    Reply

  2. Congratulations! Starting something new is always amazing! I like your writing style and hope to read more about you and SketchbookSkool very soon! See you in klass 😉

    Reply

  4. Firstly, I’m so sorry to read of your miscarriage. My daughter had a miscarriage before her first child came along and I remember it as an emotional and very sad time.

    Secondly, congratulations on finding a new path to follow. Creative paths are always so much fun and, yes, very therapeutic. I’m enjoying your sketches at SS.

    Thirdly, thanks for visiting my blog and leaving such a nice comment. I’m glad you found the pineapple sketch tips helpful. As for Moleskine sketchbooks…I love them, both their sketchbooks and watercolour notebooks. Some sketch artists don’t like the Moleskine sketchbooks because they are like card-stock…very smooth paper…and it doesn’t take watercolour well but I still use mine for watercolours regardless. I don’t mind if it the paper buckles a bit or if it resists the watercolour sometimes as it can give some interesting effects. That said, you would probably be better off buying the Moleskine watercolour notebooks as they are specifically designed for use with watercolours. I love using them too. Sketchbook brands are really a preference thing. Liz Steel has used the Moleskine watercolour notebooks and seemed to like them. I would suggest you try a few different brands until you find the type you like best. I have other sketchbook brands which I’ve yet to try such as, Strathmore & Stillman and Birn. I hear they are really good. Have fun finding the one for you.

    Happy Sketching ~ 🙂

    Reply
  6. brad young's art says:

    Love your sketches and your testimony. I think you’re going to inspire a lot of people with your heart and with your art. (And that rhymes.)
    Look forward to more sketches!
    –Brad

    Reply

Leave a reply to jamiegregorysketchblog Cancel reply