Sunday 9 October 2011

Returning to Drawing

Studies of model
Sarah Sander is a very good teacher.  In her drawing classes, 'Returning to Drawing' she holds a creative space for the participants, with a bit of input and introduction, a clear theme, a lot of encouragement and a non-judgemental attitude that makes drawing a pleasure for even someone like me who can be very anxious about it.

Drawing from a model




There are no rights or wrongs in Sarah's classes, only creative experiments.  She manages a good balance between individual support and group process.  Best of all, she is an enthusiast who is prepared to show her own work, a real mixed bag of scribble and doodle, drawing from life, experiments with movement and mood, and imaginative work. This reinforces the message that drawing can be anything, and the most important thing is to get started. 





Trying a bolder style




I definitely recommend Sarah's classes for anyone who is feeling in need of creative refreshment, or a bit of structure to help with discipline.  The classes are currently weekly at Rogue Artist's Studios.  See you there!

http://returningtodrawing.blogspot.com

Drawing without looking

Saturday 8 October 2011

Rogue Open Studios

Rogue was the first artists' studios I ever visited, way back when Richard Diggle ran weekly life drawing sessions, and I used to scratch away nervously, listening to the rhythm of the knitting machines in the floor above, and hoping no-one would look at my work.  It seemed like another world. and I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would one day have my own studio there.

All my life I knew I wanted to be an artist, but I thought I would never be one, because I never actually made anything that I thought was art.

In the last 6 years, I've discovered that what needed to change was my definition of art. Those obsessions and interests that I have sometimes followed and mostly ignored, are now given permission to grow and they have become my practice.

Last night at my first Rogue Open Studio I was able to show in my own studio, a small body of work that I have allowed to grow out of my own individual fascinations, and it felt like a graduation!