I have to be honest, I have mixed feelings about the Moleskine (cue hate mail) - its the perfect repository for your finest sketches. It is so precious, in fact, that it simply will not accept anything that even approaches mediocrity. At least, that seems to be the culture that has evolved around them.

To me, however, a sketchbook should be a place for chaotic experimentation where failures are just as important as the successes. A blank canvas can be intimidating, but not if one approaches it armed with those experiences gained from the sketchbook. And still I notice that students are often too careful about what they put in their sketchbooks. Its hard to explain that I want them to make mistakes- have some embarrassingly terrible pages, drawings that look nothing like what we intended or ideas that make us question our own state of mind. Of course, that holds true for me as well. Often, if I'm worried that an idea won't look good on paper, I'll remind myself that my sketchbook is not precious and spend a few minutes just scribbling.

And yet- its hard to argue with the beauty of a well executed and themed Moleskine, like this one (found via Twitter from Clarence Fisher) from Paris:

Maybe I need to get a sketchbook for my new sketchbook.