7:7 Sketchbook unfolds over seven weeks. Each week there will be:​

• One two-hour live session on Zoom with Ali (with replay)

• Daily drawing and journalling prompts by email for which you will set aside around half an hour each day

​

Sessions are delivered live to a capped cohort, creating a calm and focused shared space. Each participant works privately in their own sketchbook throughout. There is no sharing of artwork - the emphasis is on personal process and internal observation rather than external feedback. Questions may be submitted via chat and are addressed at the end of the session. The atmosphere is structured, contained, and reflective.

​​

Each session centres on two elements: a clear exploration of the role art played at that developmental stage, and how that original function can support us in adulthood; and a guided sketchbook activity inspired by a well-known artist whose mature work consciously draws on that same developmental energy.

​

You work in one private sketchbook, creating continuity from week to week and gradually easing fear of the blank page.

​

The Seven Weeks

Week One : Art as (E)motion

We begin with the Scribble Stage where art functions as release and regulation. The sketchbook activity explores rhythm, repetition, and line as a carrier of feeling.

​

Week Two: Art as Connection

In the Pre-Schematic Stage, art centres on people and things that matter. We explore drawing as a way of expressing connection through scale, placement, and symbol.

​

Week Three : Art as Illustration

At the Schematic Stage, children develop stable visual systems. We examine how personal symbols emerge and how visual language organises experience.

​

Week Four: Art as Alignment

In Dawning Realism, peer awareness sharpens. Art becomes a way of aligning with shared culture and taste. This week focuses on identifying our own preferences.

​

Week Five: Art as Apprenticeship

The Pseudo-Naturalistic Stage introduces critical evaluation and technical attention. We approach observation, copying, and skill-building as a journey not a destination.

​

Week Six: Art as Identity

During the Crisis of Adolescence, art carries personal stake. We explore distortion, symbolism, and stylisation as tools for expressing who you are.

​

Week Seven: Art as Authenticity

The final week - the emergent adult artist -  integrates the stages and focusses on your next steps to find your artistic voice.

​​​

By the end of seven weeks, you will understand how art developed in you, where it may have been interrupted, and how to move forward with greater clarity, confidence and resilience.