What do we see in class? Each other, and beauty, and all of these things. It’s so good to reflect together on what we see. I encourage everyone to try put saying nice things about your own drawings. Neutral and curious keep it simple, what do i see? I would be delighted if people offered…
Tag: class
What if? Naenae drawing workshops
Sometimes if you have a question, you gotta get out and ask it with others. What came up really strongly in this free workshop to explore where we live, is that “All of our perspectives are different.” I heard that in different ways, all day, and yes, you’re so right! I love drawing as a…
Permission and expression
I’ve been thinking a lot about how we give ourselves permission. The inner critic is strong, and we have ideas in our heads about what is a ‘good’ drawing. And also, what fear looks like. Slow, careful, diffiult lines, with shoulders hunched, eyes screwed up, and all the while fearing who is looking over our…
“No vulnerability, no creativity”
I love this about the conditions we need to be able to learn. Brene Brown, Daring Classrooms “No vulnerability, no creativity.” “85% of the people I’ve interviewed over the last 15 years remember a shaming experience at school that changed forever how they think of themselves as learners.” Brene Brown Over the years, I have…
Opening of the St Mark’s Exhibition – my work and theirs.
This Tuesday I had the great honour of walking around a whole school filled with art-work that we had made together in class. So much risk-taking, creativity and experiment. Portraits, abstract work, drawings and collages, and all embedded in experimental process and finding out as we went along together. I hope that these techniques…
Week 4 – Artist residency St Mark’s School
In Week Four we had a painting adventure. Paper on the floor, brushes stuck to long sticks, we found out how the brushes moved with the weight attached. Bouncing, swiping, swooping and twirling were some of the new ways we found of moving. We worked with our cut out colour feeling pages to create 2…
Week 3 – St Mark’s Artist Residency
In week 3, I really started to identify with the themes the classes are working with. Expressing ourselves through art, telling the stories of where we have come from, and talking about our feelings and values. I’m working with the fantastic art teacher, Markelle Archer, and today she told me about a child drawing, smoothing…
Drawing through touch
In Expressive Drawing Class we do this exercise where we draw through touch only. You close your eyes, and I give you a fragment of sculpture from the studio. They are lumpy, tangled, odd, silky. They are not things that you usually see, and so you can’t identify them. You have to feel your way…
The joy of being led
Yesterday in Expressive Drawing class, folk were talking about how lovely it is to be led for a change. A number of people who come to each class are usually leaders in their life or work, and it’s a relaxing change for them to be guided for once. And me too! Recently I have been…
Why I teach
Every class, we do a round. One at the beginning, and one at the end. We introduce ourslves, mihi to the group, say where we have come from, and why we are here. For me, the reason is always the same. I am here, because teaching these classes makes so much of my art practice,…
Sian Torrington Art Classes 