Despite the horrible rainy weather I had a fantastic time in Willesdon Green last Saturday. I was commissioned by The Architecture Foundation as part of their Urban Pioneers programme to spend the day with ten 16-19 yr olds to explore, document, and rethink their surroundings.
We spent the morning sketching and making rubbings of the floors, walls, tiles and scaffolding on the high street. This direct engagement with the environment led to a more tactile understanding and enabled a closer look at many elements of the space which had been previously overlooked. We then worked from their sketches and used their rubbings to create a collage comprising both real and imagined elements of Willesdon Green. In the afternoon we developed the work by exploring drawing in three dimensions using wire, and looked at Matisse's scissor drawings. I was really impressed with the range and depth of work created by the students in such a short space of time. My day with them was one of four sessions, and next Saturday they'll be working to create a zine of the project combining elements from each of their workshops.
On Sunday I went to Oxford to visit the Ashmolean to see Howard Hodgkin's beautiful collection of Indian Miniature paintings. The Ashmolean's collection is wonderful, really vast and I felt grumpy to not have more time to explore so I will definitely be going back. In the afternoon I went to Modern Art Oxford to catch the final day of the Graham Sutherland show curated by George Shaw. It was completely mind blowing and I really enjoyed creating two studies of my favourite pieces in the show. They have a lovely cafe there too and I can report that the orange and cranberry layer cake is awesome!
Have a lovely week and eat some cake x
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