Term 4 2021 – Drawing is Seeing…
“Sometimes, I think about thoughts…”
John, Prep
What’s inside my head? Week 1
This term we will explore the language of drawing in relation to an understanding of ourselves, and understanding ourselves in relation to others. There is no right or wrong way to draw, but rather, drawing is a process of discovery, of being curious about the world, and exploring the many ways of making marks and recording something. Emotional literacy can be defined as the ability to understand ourselves and other people. It includes the ability to understand, express and manage our own emotions. Through the visual arts, we use a range of mediums to explore our own emotions, because unless we are aware of our own feelings, how can we fully understand others? Over the course of the term, we will use drawing and a variety of other mediums to explore ourselves and our thoughts, and then those of others. We will work individually and collaboratively using a range of mediums and artists to understand, express and manage our own emotions, build empathy and understand the world around us.
In week one, while still on-line, students drew a self-portrait of their head and visualised their thoughts and feelings through a series of drawings coming out of their head! We called this exercise, “What’s inside your head!” Through this process students made their thoughts and feelings visible to the world. The artist David Shrigley loves to draw postcard sized drawings. He draws a lot of his thoughts and feelings about himself and the world on these postcards. We used his work as inspiration. Students began by examining their face in the mirror and drawing a self-portrait of their head and shoulders. They began at the bottom of the page and so as to leave enough room to create drawings coming out of your head in the top three quarters of the page. The drawings that emerged out of the students’ heads represented their thoughts and feelings at that moment. They then used colour to embellish and reinforce the message. The older students were asked to repeat the process at different times of the day and during the week and display their postcards on the wall. This created a weekly diary of their thoughts and feelings.
Week 2
Drawing Sounds
Merging on-line and on-site programs through individual work and collaborative ventures.
“Drawing for me, is essentially a way of thinking through a thought or idea, to document and try to understand what is around me.” Nigel Peake
In week 1 we used drawing to help us to reflect on our thoughts and feelings. In week 2, students used some different drawing techniques and approaches to reflect and connect. To create a deeper connection with ourselves and the world around us, we used sound or our sense of hearing and explored ways to make visible, the invisible. Usually when we draw, we use our eyes and our ability to see as our main form of connecting with the world. This week, we used our ears. We explored the drawings by artist, Nigel Peake who documents the sights, sounds, shapes, and textures he absorbs as he wanders the streets of cities around the world. Nigel Peake works with watercolours, graphite and pen creating simple pencil lines that he fills with brilliant colours. Nigel Peake has created some interesting drawings of sounds.
Back on-site in week 2 students furthered their reflections about the fast changing world around them by firstly creating a collaborarive work where all their drawings and feelings came togther. This procaess allowed students to expore and understand how others are thinking and feeling.
The following week, students created a series of post cards where they sent positive messages to the world. The idea behind this ‘artist postcard’ is to spread messages of hope and joy across the world. Through drawing, colour, signs and symbols students were able to create a series of cards that communicated a gift to someone close to them. Through the work of artists, we are able to see the many perspectives and views that people have of their world. This helps us to deepen our understandings of ourselves and others…
