Drawing Challenge!
We set six challenges for the art students shopping on Cass Art’s Student Day, and put together goody bags for the winners!
The challenges were to draw; the most impressive horse, from memory, the most exquisite scribble, the most uncanny portrait of a famous artist, the most expensive tattoo, the most descriptive depiction of an art student and the most bonkers beach scene. Joining Andrew Kerr as ringleader was Miami Vibez xoxo, aka Billy A.B.
See posts about this project here.
Half Stories
This was the name that fittingly became solid towards the end of the project. Hato Press had asked Andrew Kerr to lead a drawing workshop, so on thinking about what he (ok, I) found most interesting about my drawing practice at that moment, decided I wanted to try to encourage more of a subconscious way of at least starting a drawing.
Through various exercises, participants were encouraged to draw with “the back of your head” like when you’re falling asleep, theres a different logic at play, an unquestioning way of seeing things… If you can draw in that way, something mysterious even to you, only half understood will come out, and in that semi un-pinned world… try it yourself… make loose marks on a page as you’re falling asleep, let the pen move itself… you’ll be surprised in the morning!
See posts about this project here
Channeling The Machine
Channeling The Machine was curated by Extra Bones as a side project to Ben Parry’s installation The Deptford Machine. Three bands were chosen, and asked to write a piece of music inspired by the huge wonderful clanging sculpture which graced Utrophia’s project space, soon after it opened. The film says it pretty well.
Channelling the Machine from Philip Denvir on Vimeo.
See photos and video from the project here
Zine Making Fun Day
In conjunction with South East London Zine Fest, Extra Bones hosted a day of drawing and experimenting. It’s best told through the contents of the resulting zine;
A screenprinted double cover; taking drawings from the Through The Window set up (two people drawing onto acetate, stuck opposite each other, either side of the glass), and then exposing a screen for the inside and out’s drawings.
The printing was done in the space too.
Comic strips created by using Andrew Dennison’s Comic Strip Construction Kit (spin the wheel to decide the narrative).
Blindfolded drawing to sound. Led by Dimitri Antorka-Pieri, participants let loose on giant paper, tuning into the live soundscapes of Christopher John Weaver to wonderful abstract effect.
Autumnal Leaf Heads - it was autumn, nice to use leaves innit.
More drawing to sound. This time 60 children from Tidemill Academy, led by their teacher and Extra Bones collective’s own Jack Brown and listening to improvisations by Utrophians Martina Borrut, Ben Cummins and Matt Rigsby Smith.
This section was then Riso printed by Hato Press
Paper Jamming - Andrew Kerr’s editing-at-the-photocopier workshop. A re-purposing and hap-hazard
framing of scraps from the day.
Actual Paintings - 50 paintings were made by many visitors, and these were then ironed
and drawings by Jono Allen we photocopied directly on top
Collaborative two-way story telling and illustrating. A sprawling and disjointed story,
inspired by the drawings on the page, and visa versa!
See posts about this project here
Paper Jamming
This workshop is named after Andrew Kerr’s zine “Paper Jam”. This was; “A collection of compositions drawing from previously unrelated biro work and collected photographs and food packaging scraps etc. Pulled together, edited and overlayed instinctively, working with a photocopier, scissors and pens.”
Andrew has used this photocopier-as-editing-tool technique as part of the Zine Makin’ Fun Day, and for Trome, with Eltham College sixth form art class.
See posts about this project here
Clay Change
In response to the group show Drawing Water, Extra Bones set up a one day installation/workshop.
A mound of partly dried out slabs of clay was piled into a tray under a bottle, which hung from the ceiling upside down, and dripped water into a reservoir at the mound’s peak.
The above photo is from an initial test run, photos from the project here.
A set of brushes, scooping and prodding devices accompanied, with a sign “grab a tool and help the Clay Change”. Much mucky excavating, constructing, destructing and exploring was carried out.
Drawing The Machine
As a side project to Ben Parry’s show The Deptford Machine Extra Bones ran drawing workshops for a local primary school, and a local art foundation course.
The sessions devised and led by Andrew Kerr and Louise O’Connor focused on teamwork and the role of one element within a wider system; inspired by the nature of the installation, and on the idea of exploring and depicting more than just the physical aspects of the subject matter.
