Last Friday JAKe and I run a one day workshop recording and responding to the world. This forms part of a 1st year module and a series of projects created by Sarah and Nick for 1st years who have specifically chosen Illustration as their pathway within Graphic Arts. JAKe started off the morning outlining some tips on getting over the fear of a totally empty sketchbook by employing simple Graphic Design techniques such as drawing across 2 pages (landscape) to create “spreads” and utilising white space to create compositions or crops.
Fine liner pens where outlawed and JAKe’s demo’d with a very broad pen which certainly increased specific Art Shop sales in the morning!
We then headed into Winchester with a list of people to sketch seom specific questions to ask people and timed activities to capture specific moments, it was pretty cold but people where very happy to be sketched and engaged in conversation about there day, history or to tell us a joke or two.
We started with Poundland & Iceland visitors and then split into the Brooks Centre and the smaller Arcade of shops opposite. We talked to a few shop owners, to warm up and of course draw them.
The bus station and town hall provided the next host of people and animals, with a few good conversations too. Obviously a drawing trip around Winchester would not be complete without a visit to the Cathedral.
Lunch called and so we plotted out the shorter afternoon to include one final location. I had contacted the local Indoor Bowls centre in advance and they where more than happy to accommodate us, and so after lunch we headed there to capture bowlers in action. This was a great end to the day with lots of interaction, interesting stories and the people bowling certainly enjoyed our time there.
Heading back to WSA we quickly photocopied selected work from all sketchbooks and in the studio had a informal review of the work. We discussed the importance of this type of activity and how that on a regular basis and with dedicated time to recording the world via drawing students would be able to push forward not only with skills but with idea generation.
