Tea With A View

On the 8th of October we staged our first Big Draw event in the Cube, Tea With a View, inviting a group of participants from different ages and walks of life to come and enjoy the space, take in the views and make new drawings on old crockery.

There is a current revival in the use of vintage tea ware and cupboards often house a selection of odd cups, plates and saucers, it's hard to throw them out but what can be done with them?

Carole was given the task of sourcing a wide range of odd crockery and Michael Miles was once again pressed into service, drilling holes through the centres of a variety of different pieces of china. There were a few anxious moments as the first drill bit only managed to make it's way through 3 plates and Carole only had one other drill bit and no time to find more.

A quick call to Lorraine Rivette, who had supplied some of the cake stand middles set the drilling team back on the right track and thankfully no pieces were lost or broken either. The first task of the day was to choose three or four items that could be used to create a cake stand / sculptural tea ware assemblage. Thankfully there were enough different combinations to suit all participants.

The next step was to start exploring and drawing, some of the group chose to make drawings from the Secret Spaces. J Devereux the Strategic Arts and Culture Officer, was able to escort groups of two up to the Roof Garden to see the new vistas from level 4.

Once the sketches had been made on paper,people took courage and began to transfer them onto their chosen tea wares. Very soon there was a contented hum of conversation, punctuated by laughter and general good cheer.

Shula Hawes

Lisa Wilkinson

Sonia Hawes

Meriel White

Sophie Cullinan

Observing the world and making marks, two really simple yet thoroughly satisfying activities that sometimes get overlooked.

Marian Anderson

Cathie Shuttleworth

This was a chance for people to reconnect with drawing and also gave different ages and people with different drawing styles time and space to indulge in a spot of creative play.

Sarah Stringer

The afternoon seemed to capture the spirit of the Big Draw, a campaign which strives to banish the phrase 'but I can't draw" from our everyday lives. When planning this project we also hoped it would enable participants to take some time to make new connections, draw something meaningful, explore new social / community spaces, learn new skills and take time out to breathe, laugh, create together whilst celebrating change.

Photographs by Andrew Rushton