New Vistas - Family Drawing Day - Oct 22nd

Saturday was a beautiful day in Corby, everything was suffused with strong Autumnal light and picked out the colours in the landscape. We weren't sure exactly where we would be drawing until we arrived at the Cube. Originally we were due to be in the Chamber Foyer but as four weddings were taking place during the course of the day we needed a different space to work in. However the bursts of festive, family activity in the Chamber Foyer helped to add to the happy atmosphere during the day.

We were based in the Gretton and Weldon Rooms which were just off the Chamber Foyer.These rooms turned out to be great spaces to work from and both the Librarians and Emma Boulton Roe did a wonderful job directing people to us after they had finished their morning activities or visit to the Library. 

The rooms, normally used for meetings and Council business could have seemed sterile or intimidating but instead they became warm and welcoming, places for exploring the view from the windows, the variety of drawing materials and very quickly new friendships were formed.

The recesses by the windows made ideal spaces for drawing and we loved how this young artist used the surface he was sitting on to create marks and textures.

One of the themes of this year's Big Draw is Drawing Age a celebration of drawing in the modern age and the recognition of it's importance in fashion, engineering, product design, children's books and graphic novels, cartoons, advertising, computer games and much more. 

The Campaign For Drawing wants to know this year how drawing is used and just why it remains so vital. There are many fabulous electronic tools for drawing and many sumptuous traditional drawing materials that could have been used, but because we were working in a very new building we thought it wise to stick to pencils and pens.

J Devereux was with us again helping to show participants to a variety of 'secret spacess' in the Cube

whilst artists Carole Miles, Lisa Wilkinson and Sarah Stringer were on hand to give advice and encouragement to all who came to join in.

 Lisa pointing out an interesting angle

Sarah giving some drawing tips to David who felt that a drawing lesson might be the best way to start.

All of the artists present reassured him that taking a good look and then making a mark were a good way to start drawing. When confronted with a landscape it's often hard to know just what to focus on. 

William, David's son thought the lamp posts looked like dinosaurs and there was some talk about Corby in Jurassic times and whether dinosaurs had once roamed through the town centre, showing the strong connection between imagination and mark making. For more information about Jurassic Corby there are half term events for children at the Heritage Centre in the Old Village

 

Having overcome a certain shyness about drawing, father and son settled into a peaceful drawing space.

Ann Leonard joined us again, 

 this time with her Granddaughter Millie 

  Ann said afterwards "We enjoyed our day.

 Fun and homemade cakes were had by all!"

 The cakes were made by Lisa and are about to be pounced on by Sarah!

Before the Big Draw events Carole paid a visit to the Stevie Way Art Group which is run on a voluntary basis by Ann and Sue Bird. It's a wonderful group with a great atmosphere, they meet every Monday at Stephenson Way Community Centre to get creative in good company. 

Ann managed to persuade group members Maggie

 Gwen and Rhona to come along and take part.

Sometimes it's hard to make sense of what you are 

seeing, these two artists started off using the 

window as a light box, tracing from photographs, 

 however it wasn't long before they started 

 making their own freehand drawings!

 Tresham College had also encouraged 

their art students to come and take part

 Aleksandra working with very fine lines

 

  Colette and her daughter loved sitting in the window spaces,

 drawing and dreaming.

 Colette said afterwards"This has been great, drawing and relaxing, Absolutely brilliant. Thank you!"

Willy Gilder BBC politics reporter, artist, dog walker and dad (his own description) joined us in the afternoon and was soon making guerilla portrait sorties throughout the building! 

He said "It's really nice to see people of different ages joining in with this...I'm fascinated by how many teenagers there are in Corby Library.......what an amazing building and what a transformation for the town centre. The Cube really is a fantastic space."

"I've been thinking about why it is that so many adults have problems with drawing. I suspect people are worried about getting things "wrong" so are reluctant to have a go. And perhaps they weren't into art at school - and have since been convinced that it's only for certain arty people. How can we convince more folk to grab a pencil / hunk of charcoal / pen and have a go?"

This father and son certainly managed to overcome their nervousness about drawing, coming to see that progress is made through practice and starting the process can be a total pleasure. They left us with a simple shopping list of drawing basics and were off to buy them. We're hoping that drawing will start to become a big part of their lives!

Pausing at the top of the spiral staircase, this family shared childhood memories and took in familiar landmarks. What they also noticed was just how many pockets of green could be seen amongst all the houses and other buildings, they said that they felt uplifted and revitalised by the view, the building and by the events of the day.

If you would like to find out more about the Campaign for Drawing please visit their website

If you would like to support the Campaign for Drawing they have a shop full of lovely things

If you would like to know more about Northamptonshire Community Foundation who have helped to make this project possible please visit their website here

Cushion The Landscape, Public Drawing Day, The Cube 10/10/11

Why "Cushion The Landscape" you might be tempted to ask, as you can see from the photo above, much has changed in the town centre and spaces are still in the process of being transformed. Change is tricky, sometimes uncomfortable or challenging, in most cases the changes have been welcome ones, young and old are justifiably proud of the renewal that is taking place. Corby was one of the original New Towns but many of its buildings were showing their age. You can see a great selection of old photographs of the town  in Francis Frith Collection and this website gives a snapshot of the town's history http://www.corby.me.uk/. For more wonderful archive photographs of Corby we'd like to recommend a trip to the Our Corby Website

Some of the drawing / making days have taken place in the Chamber Foyer in the Cube. It's a space where people come for meetings, to register births, get married. It is a public space, a business space, a large, open space with airy views at one end and double doors which will lead out onto the Roof Garden in the future. Because of it's many functions it also has a selection of seating, chunky, low sofas in turquoise and brown.

When we came to view the spaces we thought it would be interesting to create a set of artworks which were also cushions, that could be displayed and enjoyed by the visiting public. Once again we thought it would be good to add a touch of temporary softness to the environment, an intervention that would remind people of their homes, of conversations with friends or family, of warmth and comfort.

Sonia Hawes, a member of Back To Books who took part in the Invisible Threads project came across the county from Eydon to take part in New Vistas. She hadn't been to Corby for many years and was delighted with the space inside The Cube and all the developments taking place in the town. 

Sonia is no stranger to the pleasures of drawing and soon became engrossed by the patterns made by the cubes and rectangles evident on the older buildings above.

Sonia managed to find a piece of 1960's
Foale & Tuffin fabric to incorporate in
her textile piece.

Kate Dyer was intrigued by the patterns created

 by the new paving on the walkways above.

Whilst Meriel White took the new Swimming Pool 

as seen through the Cube's windows 

as the basis for her cushion front.



Jennifer Helliwell was also inspired

by the Swimming Pool and Ann's information about
the reason for the choice of paving leading from the pool.

Ros Stoddart opted for a minimal palette 

of black and greys, 

basing her design on 

a view from walkway 

up to the Roof Garden.

 

 Lisa Wilkinson was inspired by borders
and planting schemes seen from the windows

Ann Leonard took the canopy suspended above a section
of Willow Place Shopping Centre as her  

 inspiration and it wasn't long before she had made 

her choice of materials 

and had begun hand stitching

Maureen Walvin's family came from Scotland, Maureen grew up in Corby,  married a Corby lad and worked in the Reprographics Department of Tresham College until retirement, she also worked as a Part Time Youth Worker in Corby for many years. The picture above shows where The Willows Arts Centre had been and looks onto to the remains of the Corby Tresham College buildings. She wanted to make a piece which would serve as a reminder of a building which held so many memories for her.

Maureen and Lorraine discussing design ideas.

Fabric pinned and stitching underway.

Shula Hawes was captivated by the building below which was The Strathclyde Hotel c1960.

Here's a link to a film clip showing it as a hotel in 1980. The writer Jill McGowan used the Strathclyde Hotel (aka The Derbyshire Hotel) as a setting in her books A Perfect Match, A Shred of Evidence and Births, Deaths and Marriages. Today it is called Grosvenor House and formerly housed Council Offices.

Shula sewing her interpretation of Grosvenor House in the Core. Her completed cushion cover seen below cleverly incorporates vintage 60's / 70's floral fabric.

The Financial Times said that Corby's belief that the arts can help regenerate a town was demonstrated by the opening of the Core, the multi-use cultural centre housed within the Cube. We are so proud to have been given an opportunity to share these new spaces with the wider community through drawing and making.

Sarah Stringer

Was inspired by the Lamposts and the Glassball panels

Sewing in the Chamber Foyer may have made the space look a little strange and untidy for a while but we'd like to say a huge Thank You for giving us the space to host a hugely enjoyable and productive day!