Lesson 1
Setting Objectives and Choosing Themes
Define the purpose and structure of the drawing workshop, whether aimed at fostering biodiversity awareness, exploring cultural identity, or engaging with urban landscapes, clear objectives shape the workshop’s design and facilitation.
Recruitment and Advertising
- Use social media, community networks, or event partnerships to attract participants.
- Highlight that no prior artistic experience is required.
- You could run the workshop at an event or as part of a festival, this would mean people could sign up on the day or drop-by when it is starting.
Selecting a Convivial Space
A suitable location should balance accessibility and drawing opportunities:
- Outdoor and indoor options (with contingency plans for weather)
- Accessibility adaptations (e.g., pathways suitable for wheelchair users or other access needs)
- Clear site instructions (e.g., if held on a farm, pre-determine accessible areas)
.svg)
Lesson 2
Drawing Skills and Themes
The facilitator might also want to introduce different sketching or drawing techniques, such as:
- Blind Contour Drawing: Drawing an object while looking only at it, not at the paper, to enhance observational skills and reduce self-judgment.
- Gesture Drawing: Quick, expressive sketches to capture movement and energy in nature.
- Negative Space Drawing: Focusing on the spaces around and between objects rather than the objects themselves, to shift perception and encourage new ways of seeing.
- Mixed-Media Approaches: Incorporating ink, watercolour washes, or even natural pigments found on-site to expand creative expression.
- Eco-Printing or Rubbing Techniques: Using leaves, bark, or textures from the environment to create imprints or rubbings as part of the artistic process.
Workshop themes could include:
- Biodiversity and Conservation: Exploring local flora and fauna through drawing.
- Cultural Identity and Storytelling: Using artistic expression to reflect on heritage and place.
- Urban Landscapes and Nature: Investigating green spaces within cities.
- Seed Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture: Documenting plant diversity through sketching.
- Ecological Change and Climate Resilience: Examining shifting landscapes due to climate change through artistic representation.
- Edible Landscapes and Foraging: Documenting wild and cultivated edible plants and their cultural significance.
- Pollinators and Plant Relationships: Studying the interactions between plants and pollinators through drawing and visual storytelling.
- Land Use and Industrial Heritage: Examining how past and present land use shapes biodiversity and community identity.
- Migration and Movement in Nature: Exploring the movement of animals, seeds, and people across landscapes
