so we have just de-installed our exhibition that marked the end of this phase of ‘drawing on the outside’.
but i should probably stick to the expected chronology of a blog, and go back to the session that i missed. the lovely rebecca kinge, of the ‘southampton collective’ – one of our funders – stepped in when i couldn’t make it. by all accounts it was a really good session, based next to the water, and highly productive and convivial. i felt a definite pang of envy upon hearing this. it is funny how possessive we get of our initiatives. especially when the first ‘text drawing’ emerges from a meet-up – thanks dave
we followed this with 2 days in god’s house tower with a rotating selection of the men who are a regular part of the project installing our exhibition. when we laid all the work out on the floor to get a sense of what we had, it was quite breath-taking – each drawing evoking a time and a place and a feeling. some from earlier small gatherings where even the self-doubt and overwhelm of wondering whether an idea did in fact have legs did not detract from the making and the exploration and the fun; others from busy chatty sessions where new processes and approaches had been enthusiastically embraced.
anyone who knows me will agree that i can be a bit of a control freak, although i work hard to overcome this and remain open to other ideas. co-curating an exhibition is one of those times where i have to actively open my mind and let the thoughts of others percolate to develop best outcomes – and i think we smashed it! jo’s idea to hang the long banner against the stone wall of the building was a triumph, and hanging the drawings with masking tape instead of the intended magnets kept the hang true to the ‘sharing the project’ vibe that we were going for (great thinking katie). as a record of ‘doto’, we had a small exhibition on the mezzanine of drawings i had done of the men, self-portraits they had made, and some of the drawings they had done of each other. these were interspersed with quotes from participants about their experiences of the sessions, and their hopes for the future of the group.
as part of the show, we supplied drawing materials for visitors to draw whilst they were there, and on the saturday afternoon, we held a drop in workshop for anyone who would like to hang out with us – we had a beautiful afternoon making small concertina books filled with direct printing from wild flowers. kirk worked on his pyrography collaboration with the bark beetles, and several of his ‘man gang’ pals came along – some of whom even became unexpectedly (in their minds) involved in the drawing workshop.
so where does these leave us? we are definitely keen to continue with the sessions, and we have some budget remaining to do so this summer as we work towards creating some art works that will live in the public realm at swaythling station. So we are back to looking for funding to continue … and develop … katie and i have big thoughts about a 2 year continuation project expanding the offer to other groups – but you will have to wait for further details of that.
