Work in progress 1

Work in progress 2

Work in progress 3

I’ve always wanted to work on a large scale but not always found the courage to do it. Earlier this week, I spent 3 days on Zoom studying with Katie Sollohub.

She was running a course entitled ‘Embodied Drawing’ at Seawhite Studios. Emily Ball is the owner of this set up and for this course she was participating alongside us.

https://www.emilyballatseawhite.co.uk/

“The course is for students wishing to expand their drawing practice and find new limits, beyond the scale of your average drawing, by working large, freely, involving body and breath. You will be your own model, working on two or three large scale drawings, and guided by Katie’s exercises and meditation…… By connecting the process of drawing to our own physicality, we can harness directly the power and sensations of the body to create marks. The outcome is perhaps not important, it is more about the process than the product in this course. However, the results may surprise and inspire you in your approach to drawing and painting beyond the course, helping you to discover a fresh way of working from the figure, reinventing your visual response to the physical body.”

Climbed a mountain during the course but it was so worthwhile, great group of participants worldwide and we’re staying in touch on social media, supporting and inspiring each other.

My thanks to Emily and Katie and the Seawhite team for putting this on for us. If this description inspires you, they plan to run this course again in the new year.

Experimental work done after the strict discipline of the Zen workshop, playing with salt, pre-wetting the paper, and using large sheets of watercolour paper

Detail of Dai ji zai

Mu Ichi Butsu

I have recently attended two Zen Brushwork workshops which are only allowed to happen online due to current restrictions.

The first workshop was beamed into my studio from Kyoto, Japan and was led by Sarah sensei and Inoue sensei. The whole experience was new to me, involving strict disciplines of Zazen (sitting meditation), Yoki-Ho (30 minute warm up exercise), Kusho (writing in the air) followed by painting the Kanji (Japanese characters) with Japanese ink and brush. The Kanji we painted was Dai ji zai, translated variously as ‘complete freedom’, ‘great freedom’ or ‘great unhinderedness’.

The second workshop was led by Jos Hadfield, working from Cornwall, again on Zoom. The Kanji we painted was Mu Ichi Butsu, which translates as ‘Owning no-thing’.

I really enjoyed the gestural mark making but fully appreciate I have a long way to go with this discipline which also feeds back into my study of Tai Ji and my painting.

Excited to have received my sketchbook from Brooklyn Art Library yesterday. Looking forward to enjoying filling it in. Lots of ideas in my head but see where my pencil takes me…

Just to explain the background, Brooklyn Art Library is a non profit art organisation that has been completely funded by participation since 2006. The Brooklyn Art Library crew say

“By buying a sketchbook, you have helped us ensure that we are keeping our physical library space free and open to the public as well as our digital library accessible world wide. Your book will be joining our collection of 50,000 artists books from 130 different countries. This project is meant to encourage creative storytelling, within a global community.”

https://brooklynartlibrary.org/

Always a relief to know that my sketchbooks have arrived safely in Brooklyn Art Library. The Sketchbook Project crew sent me this email today:

“Thanks for sending in your project for The Sketchbook Project 2017! We just wanted to let you know that your project has now been cataloged into the Brooklyn Art Library! It can be found on the shelves with a call number of 327.1-5.”

Have been busy filling my SBP Sketchbook for Brooklyn Art Library in New York (see earlier Blogs). I have drawn the Yang 88 Style of Taijiquan as it was being performed in front of me. No time for details, just focusing on grasping the essence and the energy flow of the form. I have been studying Tai Ji for 25 years now so this is a celebration of my quarter century. I do however still consider myself to be a beginner. It is supposed to take several lifetimes to master the art of Tai Ji.

https://www.sketchbookproject.com/library?utf8=%E2%9C%93&q=andie+clay

It’s time to fill in another sketchbook for the SBP in New York. This will be the third time I’ve taken part.                                                                                                                           Here’s a bit of information about the set-up:

We are an independent Brooklyn-based company that organizes global, collaborative art projects. Our flagship endeavor is The Sketchbook Project, a crowd-sourced library that features 35,418 artists’ books contributed by creative people from 135+ countries. Brooklyn Art Library is our storefront exhibition space in the heart of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY where The Sketchbook Project collection is on view to the public.                                                                                                                                       Brooklyn Art Library, 28 Frost Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211. Open Tuesday to Sunday 12-6.The SBP currently holds around 35,418 sketchbooks by 162,081 creative people from 101 different countries.

https://www.sketchbookproject.com/