writing this for a second time (chrome crashed as i was finishing off a post on the night of the session), several days (and some disheartening experiences) later, it feels important to note how tone and memory can be so affected by current events. i will try and re-channel the positivity and forward-facing energies that katie and i shared the morning after session 4 when we met for a review of the project to date (see next post).
following a suggestion that we rejoice in southampton’s somewhat invisible, yet actual, proximity to the coast, katie collected some shells and driftwood from hengistbury last week. i also collected some large stones following another request from a participant that we paint them. one of our reflections was that the idea that those taking part collected and brought the things they were interested in drawing or using as inspiration had not taken off. (more of that later) so we continue to supply stimuli, based on comments and requests.
neither of the suggesters turned up. in fact, just one person did – and it was the same person that we had spent a lovely afternoon with in session 2. we all had a slightly awkward laugh about it – deciding that every other session was held just for this one man – and then we got on with having a great time.
having ascertained last session that people were quite happy with the free and easy nature of the sessions, i thought about my other intentions within this project – to challenge and develop my own practice – and decided to try some guided exercises to start the session this week. we drew shells from touch, doing timed studies between 1 and 8 minutes long, using drawing materials that we would not usually go for. this yielded some beautiful marks that surprised all three of us. i chose to use charcoal from the church fire which gives an irregular, unpredictable mark. i found the process hard to focus on – how does time get so much slower when your eyes are closed? and hard to do – i usually work so quickly and immediately, so making these marks without assessing them as i went proved a challenge. but what emerged was a rich new set of marks which i went on to work with for some of the afternoon. despite some exciting outcomes from that beginning, we all settled back into known media and ways of drawing as the time passed.
last time it was just me, katie and one other, it felt quite difficult, but this time, large amounts of time were spent in a very comfortable, companionable silence as we each explored our drawing. brian (not his real name, but easier than repeating ‘a participant’) has been 3 times now, and it feels as though there is an ease developing between us. he is not a huge talker, and when he does talk, it is so quiet. but we have learnt to navigate this, encouraging and offering conversation whilst taking care not to demand it. drawing in a room together with someone who has chosen to come back feels like a gentle privilege.
