Fiona Candy
Artist exploring less conscious modes of perception: touch, hearing, memory, sense of time, movement, atmosphere. When mind, body and world interact
fionacandy.uk
Drawn to Life: workshops at The Artistry House for The Big Draw Festival
26th October 2019 / fionacandy	/ Leave a comment
Above: A drawing workshop participant eyes up her chosen plant specimen. We referenced John Ruskin quotations as thought provoking mottos within the sessions.
I was super pleased when The Artistry House people asked me to host drawing workshops with them, for The Big Draw in October 2019, together with The Friends of Winckley Square.
The Big Draw is the world's largest drawing and visual literacy festival and this year its theme 'Drawn to Life' celebrates the benefits of being actively creative, to make positive change and improve wellbeing. The festival brings people together all over the world, to champion the ever increasing evidence, both anecdotal and academic, that a more creative life really can improve your health.
Our sessions were inspired by nature and we took up John Ruskin's approach to 'drawing as a way of seeing'.
Drawing as a way of seeing"
Like Ruskin, I believe that drawing is a disciplined, intensely mindful practice. Its a way to learn directly through observation of the world in all its inter-connected complexity, by and for oneself, rather than to only learn about it, at second hand, from the distance of written language or as mediated by the education system.
Live art and free, hands on drawing sessions took place throughout the afternoon. Artists with a wide range of previous experience, from novices to art professionals, took part.
The Artistry House guests joined in spontaneously to observe nature, react and respond to what they saw, by drawing. They worked with colour and the range of media provided. Differing approaches were encouraged and openness to experimentation allowed exchanges of skill and experience. The beautifully restored interior of The Artistry House, and the many artworks and objects on display, enforced a sense of creativity as a way of being. There was a connection to nature and to each other, made through drawing … as the mellow autumn sunlight streamed in.
A restorative and inspirational afternoon. Thank you to everyone who took part.
Above, intense observation: the 'cherry blossom' gaze.
Special thanks to Uzma Padia for her assistance and to all at The Artistry House.
See our event on The Big Draw's website here
Making our mark in the park.
24th October 2019 / fionacandy
In addition to the drawing activities at The Artistry House, I devised and led a series of group walking activities for The Big Draw and Preston Arts Festivals, in association with The Friends of Winckley Square. These walks meandered through Avenham and Miller Parks in the centre of Preston, during October 2019. On each walk a sequence of perceptual exercises took place at different locations and introduced creative techniques to tune in to and be inspired by the surroundings, particularly ephemeral atmosphere and sensory qualities.
Walkers' creative 'kit': containing A5 notebook/sketchbook, pencil, graphite stick, wooden peg … and in this case, a horse chestnut seed. Each kit contained a seed from a different species of tree.
A few moments we recorded on the walks, are shown below.
Slowing down and getting into the right state of mind and body…
Perceiving connections, sensing and 'drawing' lines…
We descended the flights of 17 x stone steps, making a somatic, rhythmic link to the 17 x syllable format of traditional haiku poetry (three lines, made up of 5, 7 and 5 syllables)
The haiku writing exercise continued at different locations: at the cut grass circle, along the river, around the fountain and in the bandstand.
Essence of moments: some examples of our draft haiku descriptive writings, pegged in situ.
Bringing awareness to the present moment has been shown to improve mental health and physical wellbeing. It can be especially helpful for those feeling weighed down by the past, or fearful of the future. Becoming more aware of and in touch with surroundings can aid feelings of calm, connection and balance.
On each of the walks we made other collaborative artworks and placed them midway across the old railway bridge over the river Ribble, as material reminders of the benefits to mind and body of creativity and being fully present in the moment. We interpreted the perpetually flowing river as a metaphor for time passing and the midway crossing point on the bridge as neither past or future: a site to celebrate our communal NOW moment.
On one of the walks we made graphite drawings, rubbings and interpretations of atmosphere, using pre-prepared templates to aid composition. We then compiled all the drawings using magnets onto the side of the old iron bridge.
On another walk, we collected yellow as we moved through the park, then sorted into shifting autumnal shades to create a vibrant circle.
As an ancient symbol of holism and unity, our circle seemed both enduring and ephemeral.
I developed my own form of walking notation (influenced by dance and music notations – see earlier blog posts for more detail) and used it to trace and transcribe the walking activities.
The example below, begins in Winckley Square:
Thank you to all the walkers for their generous creative participation and also to Manda Johnson-Holme and Glennis Hulme for their encouragement and support.
And a special thanks to Tony Lewis, Park Warden for Avenham and Miller Parks and Friend of Winckley Square, for his support and creative input to The Big Draw activities.
Some touchstones in the development of these creative walks have been
Paul Klee (1879 – 1940) Klee's highly individual art style was influenced by Expressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. He was a natural draftsman who also deeply explored colour theory. He taught at the Bauhaus school of art, design and architecture. https://www.paulklee.net
Hannah Tuuliki is a Finnish/Scottish contemporary artist working in the landscape, with voice, drawing and gesture. https://www.hannatuulikki.org
Richard Long – one of Britain's best-known land artists. http://www.richardlong.org
Nancy Holt (1938-2014) An american artist who pioneered a unique aesthetic of perception, as a key member of the Earth, Land and Conceptual art movements. http://www.nancyholt.com
Hamish Fulton – English artist who translates his walking into a variety of media. http://www.hamish-fulton.com
Andy Goldsworthy OBE is a British artist known for his site-specific installations involving natural materials and the passage of time. Andy studied art at Preston Polytechnic. Watch a recent film about his work here: https://www.leaningintothewind.com
C.G. Jung (1875 –1961) Swiss born founder of analytical psychology, Jung was also an artist, craftsman and builder as well as a prolific writer. He cited an intense period of art making as hugely influential in the development of his theories of the unconscious. Suggest his last book, an autobiography 'Memories, Dreams, Reflections' as a starting point.
'The Spell of the Sensuous. perception and language in a more-than-human-world.' David Abram. Vintage Books. David Abram is an American philosopher, cultural ecologist, and performance artist, best known for his work bridging the philosophical tradition of phenomenology with environmental and ecological issues. https://wildethics.org
'Presence' is a leading British Haiku journal. www.haikupresence.org
Schumacher College is an internationally renowned learning community in Devon, offering ecology-centred masters programmes and short courses. https://www.schumachercollege.org.uk
The world's largest drawing and visual literacy festival and this year its theme 'Drawn to Life' celebrates and explores the benefits of being actively creative to make positive change and improve wellbeing.
The festival brings people together to champion the ever increasing evidence, both anecdotal and academic, that a more creative life really can improve your health.
At The Artistry House, Winckley Square, Preston.
https://www.theartistry.house
Saturday 12th October 2019 12 – 4pm
Live art sessions hosted by artists Fiona Candy and Atlantic Contemporary, will run informally throughout the afternoon. Join the Big Draw with the Friends of Winckley Square on Saturday 12th October for 'HUMAN-NATURE' at The Artistry House, 16 Winckley Square, Preston. The Artistry House doors will be open from 12 – 4 and you are welcome to pop in at any time during the afternoon to be inspired by art and explore the house. You are invited to participate and explore your creative side with live art sessions on portraiture and inspired by nature."
Please note art places will be limited and provided on a first come first serve basis.
For booking information see Eventbrite: here
AA2A at Liverpool Hope University November 2015 – May 2016
Anima Mundi: Cornerstone Gallery, Liverpool, UK. April 2016
Captured in Motion
Future Memories
In The Shadow
Making Presence Felt, Northampton April – May 2015
New Art Growing.
The Big Draw October 2019
The NOW Project, Morecambe Bay. October 2017.
The Vintage Gaze
Tree of Life. Dartington Hall, June 2016
Under Development 2017/18