Place

I draw is a slippery term. In isolation it’s imprecise and needs context to confer meaning. It could be about air, attention, carriage, comparison, conclusion, curtains, game, gas, lots, liquid, money, move, picture, pull, reaction, smoke, talk, or weapons. It might be an idiom such as the battle lines are drawn or I draw breath. (1)

I enjoy this feeling of slipperiness!

I’m interested in the context of drawing a picture by making a mark on a surface. This could be made with chalk, charcoal, crayon, electronic drawing, erasers, ink, markers, silverpoint, pastels, pen or pencil. Can one draw with light? Is the cast of a shadow a drawing? Does a cut line constitute drawing?

Drawing is difficult to define and shifts with the times but one point of view is it delineates form with lines. (2) Since similar materials can be involved, whether something is a painting or a drawing seems to hinge on the nature of the marks made – linear verses a more saturated excess perhaps?

Another perspective is that a two-dimensional surface is marked permanently or impermanent by drawing – a small amount of material is deposited to leave a visible mark. (3) This rules out light and the cut line as drawing mediums. However, another stance indicates that artistic intention is key, with the result anything could potentially be considered drawing.

At the moment I’m clear I don’t make drawings. I briefly used a scalpel to delineate the curve of a face or angle of neck on the pictures of women in my collages. The cut was made instinctively in reaction to each image. This felt like it teetered on the borders of drawing, but then I moved away from the approach and the feeling dissipated.

Bibliography

1 http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/learner/draw (1st September 2015)

2 http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/w/what-is-drawing/ (1st September 2015)

3 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing (1st September 2015)

August…a holiday from making art – rest and recharge my batteries rather than schlep round exhibitions – work on the house to improve my environment – reflect not make – focus on the why of making with Nicola Saunderson – develop a strategy for the art year ahead – collaborate with Karen Crosby to deliver my very first public-facing workshops.

The next event I have is Making Art Work’s Art Market on Saturday 19th September. My goal is to test public reaction to a series of prints inspired by the song of the train and ideally sell some of them! There’s 8 film stills and 2 images constructed from dual shots taken closely together (shown here), supplied unframed, print size 20 x 30.5 cm. If you’re able, please come along to visit the stall I’ll be sharing with Karen Crosby and Alex Edwards.

Maidstone’s very first Art Market event is a one day not-to-be-missed opportunity to see the work of 80 artists as well as an eclectic programme of singers, poets, dancers and performers. There’s also the chance to nab a bargan in the charity art auction and to make your own printed art work.

More information

19th September, 9:00am to 4:00pm, Market Hall, Lockmeadow, Baker Road, Maidstone, ME16 8LW, free entry

Artist Nicola Saunderson and I have been chatting about our different approaches to surveying a site. Hers is organised and disciplined – pseudo scientific – whereas mine is instinctive and based around visual moments that intrigue me.

Inspired by her approach I surveyed a new trip last week, filming the entire thing and then taking still shots at set intervals, creating a very different experience for me. Once tactics are decided they simply need to be enacted, leaving me feeling somewhat detached from the experience and not connected as fully to the site surveyed.  However, surveying this way feels like a valuable starting tactic, documenting what’s where and trapping stuff I might previously have missed – a baseline from which to repeat survey more closely.

The first cut of the Song of the Train is a good basis from which to move forward but probably not a finished product. Its tactics of stills sliding somewhat awkwardly into moving image is strong, although perhaps the stills should be apparent not actual.

Site has relevance, although this isn’t necessarily tied to where the train is travelling to and from. What IS key is the emotional impact the experience evokes. This means the titling of the work needs re-visiting.

Next: make a series of short films, each investigating something specific, such as:

Sunlight
Light / shadow
Dusk
Water
Rain
Reflection / layering
People waiting for a train
Meeting of architecture and nature
Shots that appear still but aren’t
Dislocating motion that feels somewhat wrong such as the curve round a bend

Effective protesting for activist Sarah Corbett: pretty, non-threatening scenarios – picnics and cupcakes, or handkerchiefs embroidered with the truth – to engage and draw people in, allowing the conversation to begin.

Craft: invaluable tool to bring people together, encourage them to connect and to encourage close listening. This connection can then be used to ask difficult questions and encourage change. By working collaboratively on something like a stitched project, eye contact is restricted and a safe space for free dialogue created.

Notes from the talk, Eye of the Needle: Art, Stitch, Partnerships and Protest,  at the British Library,  13/7/2015

A creative seminar linked to the IN-SITE project, arranged by Francis Knight  at the University of Kent, Chatham Historic Dockyard, 8th July 2015

I found the discussion about the role the artist has to offer in public projects particularly intriguing. Possibilities:

• Recorder (1)
• Researcher (1)
• Collaborator (1)
• ‘What if’, expansive open thinker (1)
• Producer, directing the work of others (1)
• An enabler, building bridges and understanding (1)
• One who forces a pause, provoking debate amongst those who think they already have a solution (2)
• Collaborative provocateur, not to get people’s backs up, but to help others think creatively (4)
• Can be an independent, self-appointed provoker working without permission to suggest an alternative agenda (2)
• One who plays – is curious – and invites others to join in the game (3)
• Maker of work that matters to others (1)
• Creator, making work that might not be liked by all, but that gets people talking (4)
• Creating art that changes people’s perceptions of themselves, where the effect on one individual is as important as the effect on general public (5)

Source:
1 Tom Littlewood, Ginkgo Projects
2 David Cotterrell, Artist
3 Jo Thomas, Artist and part of Figure Ground
4 Alice Waller, Medway Council
5. Lance Phillips, Physical Folk