Art For A Lifetime: Drawn From Life

Riverside Branch Library

The objective of this eight week workshop was to investigate and practice the skill of drawing. It is my belief that everyone can draw, given that you have the patience and desire to devote time to your practice. A drawing does not have to be an exact representation in order to qualify it as a drawing; rather it is about discovering the essence of the subject being drawn that brings it to life on the page. In the workshop we considered the variety of ways to mark marks.

Besides drawing from observation (actual objects), we used secondary sources (photographs), and ultimately drew upon each individual’s life experiences as inspiration for their drawings. 

Miniature Folded Books

Spuyten Duyvil Branch Library (Bronx)
Quatro-Fold and Accordion-Fold

Taking a single sheet of paper and folding it into a four page mini-book the participants illustrated their book with the intention of sharing a memorable life event. We examined the collages of French artist Henri Matisse as inspiration while using bold graphic shapes to tell a story. And considered the Illustrations of Norman Rockwell for his Americana narrative.

Countee Cullen Branch Library (Manhattan)

This project seeks to draw out each person’s life stories by asking them to list facts and or aspects of themselves, thus becoming a self-portrait and a graphic representation of their life.  Reflection Question: Who are you? List those moments in your life that stands out from the rest. i.e. the birth of a child, having to relocate, new job, etc. 

Lifetime Arts & NYPL

Countee Cullen Branch Library (Manhattan), 3-time grant awardee, teaching Life Maps, collage, drawing, and folded/altered books.

Sheepshead Bay Branch Library (Brooklyn), Watercolor

Lifetime Arts encourges creative aging by promoting the inclusion of professional arts programs in organizations that serve older adults, preparing artists to develop the creative capacity of adult learners, and fostering lifelong arts learning by increasing opportunities for intergenerational and community-based programming. (Lifetime Arts Website)

Programs included balanced lessons with formal and technical approaches to conceptual and imaginative play. I included within the lesson a life review aspect, so as to create more opportunities to investigate and engender personal and shared meaning.  Additionally, I encouraged usage of a variety of art forms as a means of expressing commentary on issues of societal and cultural importance.

Life Maps

Washington Heights Library (Pro Bono)
Countee Cullen Branch – Harlem (Lifetime Arts Grant)
Collage and Beginning Drawing Classes

Maps are tools that help to guide and give direction, and Life Maps can show us where we have been and where we might like to go, in the form of a personal geography.  By examining the appearance of maps through the lenses of line, texture, color, and point-of-view, students were introduced to the elements of design and the art of collage.

I included a variety of historical and present day maps with relevance to New York City (cycling maps, bus and subway maps, walking tour maps, etc.). We considered each of these for both their functional aspects as well as their metaphorical qualities. Students then integrated maps for collage making while also drawing upon their life experiences and memories to inspire their work.

I use a disciplined-based art education approach so as to include related activities in the realm of art history, art criticism, and aesthetics, as well as a studio component. Students studied how artists like Romare Bearden and Mark Bradford drew upon city life as a source of inspiration, using collage to express their experience of urban living.

For more information about Lifetime Arts, click to here.