As part of the Jubilee and half term celebrations at Wilderness Wood, I ran an art workshop for families based around drawing some of the wonderful nature in the woodland. Five families joined in, with children ranging in age from three to sixteen; I love mixed classes and I really wanted to encourage the adults to take the time to do the drawing as well, as so often as parents we take our children to events which are primarily for them, and with this workshop the emphasis was on everyone having a chance to relax and do some art.
I set up the two tables in the Barn with some cherry, holly, and ivy leaves, some A3 paper and 2H and 2B pencils. Charcoal was put in bowls in the centre, and I distributed some 6B graphite sticks, and 0.5mm fineliner pens in case people wanted to try different media. I left beeswax crayons for the really young children, and had some coloured pencils on hand in case folk wanted to break free from the monochrome.
After introductions, I sent everyone out to the main area by the Barn to collect any objects of interest to draw: feathers, pine cones, flowers…
I gave a few hints on getting started, and reminded everyone that this was an informal workshop, and having a go was the main thing. Most of the attendees were keen artists already, so it was a great atmosphere, and some gentle guidance and encouragement from me were all that was needed.
I will be running similar workshops in August – keep an eye on the Wilderness Wood website for details.
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