Let the workshops begin....

This Saturday sees the first of the Archive workshops at Matlock with the Derbyshire County Council archivist.  Those of you booked on will have received your joining instructions and requirements list. There are still two places available for last minute entrants for Diana Syders workhop - just to remind you ...

Diana’s Biography:

“I am a painter and poet. As a painter I work in all media and move between abstract, semi-abstract and figurative styles. I regularly exhibit and in 2005 won the Derbyshire County Council Oil painting prize. My work can be seen at Bakewell Art and Design, and The Beetroot Tree, Draycott. At the time of writing I have a painting in The Harley Gallery open exhibition, Welbeck, and an exhibition scheduled for June 2013 at Buxton Museum and Art Gallery. I tutor painting workshops and demonstrations. I’m also a poet for whom science and nature are major themes, with four published collections: String, Maxwell’s Rainbow (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation), Hubble, and Planet Box. I have a ‘Public Awareness of Science Award’ from the Institute of Physics for my poetry and, as a poet, am on the British Council’s list of science writers. I have taught and tutored creative writing extensively both in universities and with community groups. I live and work in Taddington in the Derbyshire Peak District where I design our Well Dressing. We use around 60 different materials, so in late August I can usually be found up to my knees in foliage and flowers, leading our petalling team.

Intention for the day:

‘Writing in pictures, drawing in words’

Artists often find inspiration in text, just as writers find inspiration in visual images. This workshop will give you a chance to experiment in both media. We’ll take ideas from the archivist’s talk and images from ancient documents to jump-start both your verbal and visual imaginations. A series of stimulating, interconnected exercises will take you beyond the obvious, leading towards a final piece that combines both text and visual images/textures. This is an opportunity to broaden your Archive project work, or to introduce new elements into your practice. Don’t worry if you think you can’t draw or can’t write; you will surprise yourself! You will go home with all sorts of interesting visual and written material and brimming with ideas for further work.

Requirements for the day:

Plastic sheeting to protect your workspace, , kitchen roll/cleaning rags, a hairdryer, charcoal, 4 large plastic pots (eg large yoghurt) , large drawing board (eg 76 x 76cms OR you can work on the table surface), white pastel, 2 household paint brushes (between ½ inch and 2 inches), graphite, w/sol graphite sticks, pencils, a chunky eraser (not a putty rubber). Any other implements you can’t bear to leave home without. A piece of any fabric....this could be a scarf, or anything you have in your workbox, size not critical but somewhere between a square foot and a square metre.

We will provide acrylic paint in black and white plus large sheets of cartridge paper.

I will be publishing pictures from the session sometime during the week following so watch this space...