Changing Horizons - Family Drawing Day - Oct 25th

Each drawing event at the Cube has come with a different set of weather conditions, there have been greyish days and days punctuated by the most brilliant light, there have been cloudscapes and wind whipped, rain damp streets, there has been the scurry of feet and the rustle of leaves. The landscape is fairly flat and on a grey day it's hard to pick out landmarks. It has been interesting to see how people respond to the views on offer, some  feel "where is the drama, where is the spectacle, this is just boring", but those who know the area have no difficulty in picking out just what is special to them.

This little girl started drawing lines because Carole had asked people to make one line drawing of the view from a window. The space seemed so vast, simple lines seemed the best response, once she noticed the pebble and sedum growing out on the roof she began to relax and enjoy herself.

Do not fail, as you go on, to draw something everyday, for no matter how little it is, it will be well worthwhile, and it will do you the world of good. - Cennini 

What is drawing? It is working oneself through an invisible iron wall that seems to stand between what one feels and what one can do. - Vincent van Gogh, "The Letters of Vincent van Gogh to His Brother"

Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times. It brings together man and the world. It lives through magic.- Keith Haring

Becky enjoyed drawing in the Cube on Saturday so much that she came back again with a friend

 

Drawing is . . . not an exercise of particular dexterity, but above all a means of expressing intimate feelings and moods.- Henri Matisse

The essence of drawing is the line exploring space - Andy Goldsworthy

From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs, but all I have done before the the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy five I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing.' - Hokusai, The Drawings of Hokosai

One of the things we felt would be really important about the Family Drawing Days would be to encourage the parents who came with their children to stay and draw with them - there were plenty of sofas set back from the drawing tables and it would have been mighty tempting to settle down, sit back and chat adult to adult.

When these two family groups arrived the mothers were going to do just that, but Carole asked them to sit with their children, even if they felt that they had no ability to draw. Carole said that sitting and creating together would be something that they could all enjoy and would remember as a really happy time in the future. 

Initially the Mums were unconvinced, but who can resist the allure of taking time for yourself and a box of gorgeous new pencils - Carole encouraged them to forget the scary white paper, to forget the critical teacher of the past and remember the childhood joy of making your mark. 

Good drawing takes a lifetime practise, as Hokusai states in the quote above, but you can't improve if you don't plunge in and make a start! At the end of the session everyone felt that they had had the best time and the Mum's were glad they had joined in rather than sat back.

Andrew Rushton, who was helping to document the events of they day is also a well known face at The Ferrers Specialist Arts College, was taken by surprise when some former students appeared in the Cube. He's caught them here at the top of the Cube's spiral staircase.

To draw, you must close your eyes and sing. (Pablo Picasso)

Before you are able to draw, you have to learn to see, and you learn to see by drawing. (Mick Maslen)

I sometimes think there is nothing so delightful as drawing. (Vincent van Gogh)

I have learned that what I have not drawn I have never really seen, and that when I start drawing an ordinary thing, I realize how extraordinary it is, sheer miracle.- Frederick Franck, " The Zen of Seeing"

When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college - that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared back at me, incredulous, and said, 'You mean they forget?' (Howard Ikemoto)

I know I draw without taking my pen off the page. I just keep going, and that my drawings I think of them as scribbles. I don't think they mean anything to anybody except to me, and then at the end of the day, the end of the project, they wheel out these little drawings and they're damn close to what the finished building is and it's the drawing... (Frank Gehry)

Photographs by Carole Miles and Andrew Rushton

For more quotes  by artists on drawing follow this link and this one

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