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How 21 Sketchbooks Defined 3 Eras in my Creative and Professional Journey

Overview of my sketchbook journey from 2002 to 2020



A spread of 21 sketchbooks on my studio floor
A spread of 21 sketchbooks on my studio floor

Hello and happy 2025! ✨

A lot of recent happenings have led me to write this retrospective into my sketchbook journey. My hope in sharing this journey is to awaken your own self-examination of growth, or to spark some thought as to where you’d perhaps like your evolution to go.


I’m not going to get on a soapbox to say what’s right or wrong, everyones explorations are different and unique, but with the passing of my dad at the end of last year - I’ve been thinking a lot about why we’re here, and what we can share with each other while we’re together on this earth.


Summary of this post:

  • Why These Sketchbooks Matter: How keeping these sketchbooks helped my personal growth, artistic exploration, and professional development (and why discovering the Moleskine brand was a game changer!)

  • The Collection: 21 sketchbooks covering three eras, and the future posts coming with a glimpse into each sketchbook era

    • Era 1: The Foundations: Being a student in New York City (2002–2006)

    • Era 2: The Architect: Bridging academia into adulthood (2006–2009)

    • Era 3: The Freelancer: Bringing business into the creativity (2009–2020)

  • The Journey Continues: We’re not done yet! I’ve just cracked open a new sketchbook for the first time in five years and lessons are already being learned

  • Your Homework: I invite you to reflect on your own creative journeys or growth habits.


 

Why These Sketchbooks Matter

Sometime before leaving Texas for college in New York City, I picked up an empty sketchbook and decided it’s what I would take class notes in. (I’m certain these early ones came from Barnes & Nobles, as this was the early 2000’s and online shopping hadn’t quite taken off yet - and strip malls with big box stores were more common place where I’m from.)


There isn’t a user manual on what makes the perfect sketchbook, and everyone has their own preferences. For myself it had to be a hardcover, not spiral-bound, and the pages had to be completely blank - no dots, lines or grids. Eventually discovering the Moleskine brand was a total game-changer. I had found the perfect sidekick: portable and sturdy enough to handle all my late-night brainstorming and ink spills. It had a pocket in the back to drop momentos, a built in fabric bookmark, a band to hold it shut, and pages just thick enough to handle micron pen ink without bleeding to the next page. It felt like my ideas finally had a home that matched their potential.



A small stack of Moleskine sketchbooks from April 2010 - July 2011
A small stack of Moleskine sketchbooks from April 2010 - July 2011

Maybe I was that cliché New York City art school kid who always had a sketchbook with her… or that architect who roughed out floor plan ideas during client meetings, but my personal growth, artistic experiments, and professional breakthroughs are captured in those pages. Each one is a time capsule filled with messy sketches, ideas, and the occasional grocery list (hey, it’s all part of the process!). Flipping through the pages still proves to be a secret weapon to sparking my creativity again when I am feeling stuck.



Sketching on the Island of Capri at the end of my study abroad in Italy
Sketching on the Island of Capri at the end of my study abroad in Italy

The Collection

There are 21 sketchbooks covering three distinct eras, and am planning three future posts with a glimpse into these sketchbook eras - with some full spread scans too! I’ll be developing a “Create Like the Era” Challenge for each post where we can create something in the same spirit - so sharpen those pencils. 😉


  • Era 1: The Foundations: Being a student in New York City (2002–2006). We’ll look at what it was like studying architecture at Pratt Institute, living in NYC, and finding my creative voice. There are yellowing pages, magazine clippings, experimentations with patterns & tessellations, thumbnail sketches for oil paintings, creating a comic called Sheeptails and preparations for studying abroad in Rome and learning Italian.


Magazine and lecture cuttings in my sketchbooks
Magazine and lecture cuttings in my sketchbooks
  • Era 2: The Architect: Bridging academia into adulthood (2006–2009). A dive into what it meant to study abroad in Italy, with a special focus on diagramming public spaces in Italian piazzas, architectural details, and history. I use my sketchbook to pass notes with friends, and press leaves. I graduate from Pratt, and land my first job as an architect, but also learn to budget, and balance work and play within those pages. There are to-do lists and explorations of website planning & digital portfolio ideas.



Sketching in Rome, 2006
Sketching in Rome, 2006

  • Era 3: The Freelancer: Bringing business into the creativity (2009–2020). My sketchbooks became both creative and strategic tools as I transition to freelancing. I develop my brand Architette Studios while managing a career as an architect, and then graphic designer. There are client notes, business plans, logo & product designs… sprinkled in with budgeting and health tracking. I stay inspired with daily sketch challenges and poetry as my major design product lines City Skylines and the Construction Series take hold.



Closeup of a city skyline sketch
Closeup of a city skyline sketch

The Journey Continues

Due to recent events, I was feeling majorly uninspired with a full creative block. I reached for my secret weapon arsenal of old sketchbooks for inspiration when I realized… it had been five years since keeping an active sketchbook. Could be because of the pandemic, or the fact that I got an iPad Pro and do a lot of sketching there now - but whatever the reason, I found it to be unacceptable. So I’ve cracked open a brand new Moleskine, and have begun to document the everyday happenings.



Sketch of wild pomegranates
Sketch of wild pomegranates

Your Homework

I’d like to invite you to reflect on your own creative journey:

  • Do you keep a sketchbook or journal? How has it evolved over time?

  • What do you notice about how your creativity changes with life phases?

  • What would you include in a sketchbook to capture your current life today?


Until next time ✨~ Jennifer


 

Disclaimer: The thoughts shared in this blog are solely my own and do not represent the perspectives of my professional relationships or clientele.


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