Book works...

Since I have been making new works in gallery 3 at Touchstones Rochdale, I have invited visitors of the exhibition to participate in some drawing activities.

There are three books to choose from, all of which ask you to follow a simple drawing instruction.

Book 1: Draw 10 lines with a pen and a ruler, anywhere inside the box (a large box has already been drawn on each page)

Book 2: Draw freehand for 5 seconds using a pen, anywhere inside the box (a medium sized box has already been drawn on each page)

Book 3: Draw 30 dots using a pen, anywhere inside the box (a small box has already been drawn on each page)

Each drawing exercise is very simple in it's instruction, however, as simple as they may seem people tend to  take a long time to begin and decide what they are going to do - and their outcomes can seem so complex!

This general theme quite prominently runs through my all of my work, and has been highlighted greatly in the works I have chosen to exhibit.  My drawings look so complex but they are derived from very simple rules or instructions that are interpreted in much more details ways.

On Saturday I chose to start working with book 3, (draw 30 dots) and this is what I got up to...

The right hand book is one drawing made by a member of the public and i have enlarged and re-plotted the dots in my sketchbook, which sits on the left.

Dot plotted , double scale, in my sketchbook

I decided to punch holes through the paper so i can directly transfer the position of each dot into the drawing surface, another time saving job!

Using the position of each dot to draw a spirograph motive, I began to build up the drawing surface with over lapping, geometric lines

My next decision was to start highlighting repetitive forms made by the spirograph. Its where these forms start to cross over and layer up that really interests me. Though highlighting these forms by shading with graphite, I am inspired by the forms that start to appear through patternation and by intuitively picking out shape.

Detail

And this is where the drawing is up to at the moment.