01 MAPPING THE STUDIO

The first lessons will center around a small study to get more familiar with taking notes in a visual way, how to put things on paper, and more specific what and why? We’ll start with observing what is happening in a given space, the studio/classroom in this case: the other students, the space itself, furniture, all kinds of objects, the windows and what’s happening outside. After a first global impression other things could be noticed: different kinds of materials, textures, books and their specific content, the electricity tubes at the ceiling, colours... Or how to visualise the different functions of the classroom, how you move through the space, from the doorway to your working table, have you been everywhere is the room?

Develop a keen eye for detail, structures, overview, particular combinations of objects, colors, light, shadow, the architecture of the space, its atmosphere, etc... How to translate these observations into drawings, and how to make sure they communicate these qualities in a personal and interesting way.

Think about how you’ll order all the collected information:

• use your memory to fill in the gaps, think about what for example is different to other classrooms you studied in, or how it differs from your own room.
• who was in that classroom, etc. try to remember as much as possible, make lists
• what happened during class, what we, you talked about to other students, etc etc...
• design signs, symbols...
• make an inventory of how cities, buildings, spaces, pieces of land are being represented in various maps and ground plans.

The final drawing should be 50 x 70 cm. Your progress, notes and sketches are also an important part of this project.

Mapping the Classroom, Rebecca Voorwald, 2017

Mapping the Classroom, Rebecca Voorwald, 2017

Mapping the Classroom, Iris Roosendaal, 2017

Mapping the classroom, Iris Roosendaal, 2017

02 DRAWING: POINT, LINE AND SURFACE

“The idea part is simple but the visual perception is complex.” - Sol LeWitt

For this exercise we’ll make a series of drawings of 3 boxes, following a list of instructions as a guideline in a set time. Every step takes about 3 minutes.

A. Draw the 3 boxes only in deconstructed elements:

• single lines only vertical
• single lines only horizontal
• single lines only diagonal
• single lines a combination of the above, may be a selection of lines
• single lines a combination of the above no touching lines
• very fast
• very, very, very slow
• plain, flat surfaces
• plain, flat surfaces: 2 adjoined
• corners
• make several patterns with a selection of elements you’ve drawn

Draw the 3 boxes as volumes:

• in line, in perspective, one a big as possible one as small as possible
• as a silhouette in line, one a big as possible one as small as possible
• as a silhouette as a form, filled in, one a big as possible one as small as possible
• in different grey tones, cross hatching

Draw the boxes in different conditions:

• different lines: curly, soft, hard, dotted lines, trembling lines, etc... - as if the boxes are blown up, so the form becomes more rounded. - as if the boxes are distorted
• very different from one another
• drawing all the boxes without taking your pen off the paper

B. This exercise on composition contains 3 parts. Using all the drawing you just made from the boxes, you are now going to make three new drawings using 2 of the following tools, and one chosen by yourself:

• attraction / rejection
• heavy / light
• far off and nearby
• empty and crowded
• ...