This is the second drawing that I made on the workshop again of my earrings. This time we were also asked to draw something else belonging to someone else in the room. I chose a lovely necklace belonging to a lady called Margaret and brought it together with my earrings. Sonia was very concerned that none of us in the group knew each other previously. We didn’t, which made for a very interesting day!

Thought you might like to see the two drawings that I made in the Sonia Boyce workshop at the Glasgow School of Art many years ago. She told me something was trying to get out. We worked in one of the magnificent studios designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in that iconic building. We were asked to draw a personal possession we had with us that had significance. I chose my silver Indian earrings. Sonia had given us a talk about her work and practice  along with other artists holding workshops on the day. We had to chose the workshop that resonated with us. I was fascinated by Sonia’s work and the way she spoke about intervening in public spaces where people meet with her pieces. I also liked the way she used the written word and explored it’s significance in certain ambiguous situations. I explored using text in my own drawing. This one says ‘Write anything you like in this box and cover it up’ It was really about us giving ourselves permission  to be totally uninhibited in what we say, or what marks we make, in our own world of artistic creations, then we can always hide it or offer up some sort of code for others to decipher.

This is the final drawing in the trilogy that I made on Monday and was the most difficult for me in many ways. I meditated before doing it to protect and ground myself as I knew I would be dealing with the darkest aspect of Medea’s revenge, namely her decision to kill the children. The words she uses ,’have to’ suggest some outside authority not herself deciding to do this as an imperative. The moment of choice is a cold dispassionate one, but the decision once made as a thought inexorably manifests itself into the act. There seemed to be no going back once she had thought it. This is where she departs from the rest of us. Is she insane, she surely loved her children more than anything else? Not more than her need to punish Jason for his betrayal.

This piece is in response to watching a video of Medea being acted out. I allowed myself to tune in to key phrases or exchanges that stayed with me. The nurse is trying to reason with Medea and is asking ‘What does it make you?’ Medea answers, ‘What I am, defeated’ That word seemed to say it all. She does not stay so though, and propels herself forward into her scheme of revenge which plays itself inexorably out.

This is a drawing I made on Monday of a key point in the Medea story. I have challenged myself to make a drawing or drawings every week until the summer in response to Book 7 of Ovid’s ‘Metamorphosis’. It seems that Medea’s outrage at Jason’s betrayal and in particular his betrayal of the sacred oath they made to each other hurt her the most, and the realisation of this fuelled her hatred and need for revenge which overrode even her love for her children. Chanelling this feeling of anger and rage resulted in this drawing. It made itself in my mind’s eye before any actual marks were made, I’m just manifesing what is already there. I was quite afraid of making such dark drawings, but going towards that has resulted in the opposite for myself coming out the other side. The softness of heartfelt real love that accepts someone just as they are. To really love someone they need to feel free even within the relationship.

Here’s the final drawing with more tone and colour laid down, signed and dated.

Here more colour has been laid down, and I’m deciding whether to leave the background white or to add some dark marks with the pencil to accentuate the dome shape.

More colour is being laid down now and tone with the pencil.

Here’s the Hosta drawing with the first layer of colour added using soft pastel pencil. I use the sketch and memory and let the drawing talk back to me, no photographs.

Here’s the initial stage of the large Hosta drawing that I made from the sketch I have shared on this blog. I’m just mapping out the shape of the Hosta dome and some of the main tones in soft pencil.