Workshop 25: Bending the Floor

Instructor: Swasky

Workshop Description

Space has been one of the main topics in history of representation in arts. Human being has always tried to represent reality. Along the art history we can find multiple ways of this “space oddities”. What I want to try is make attendees aware that probably most of them are as effective as the common and accepted conic perspective. These are paths already opened but I have not revisited, and I want to go through them again, recovering memories that we have buried deep in our mind. As I have written before space is a huge worry but most of the twentieth art movements answered already with plenty of solutions. We are going to experiment with the idea of how our sight works. Keeping this idea of space recreation in mind we will start to experiment it.

Learning Goals 

I want to share with them my own experience about representing space. One of my majors worries has been how to fit everything was in front of me in my sketchbook. This question came to me when I was drawing a huge room and I want to draw in the same sketch a wonderful wall and the ceiling. Then the only one solution was deformation, not forgetting perspective, but exploring new ways of representing space.

Workshop Location

I would like to run my workshop or in the Manchester Museum or Barton Arcade.

Workshop Schedule 

10 min Introduction to space as representation and convention. 

I will introduce conventions as perspective and many others conventions which will help us to represent space.

2-5 min Proposing exercise and explanation.

50 min Exercise bending the floor following the 90º convention.

Attendees will work using a convention of representing space. We need an open space like a square. I will be going to each one’s work commenting individually and giving tips and sharing our thoughts about each one’s work.

10 min Regroup and discuss. Collecting everybody’s work and all the comments worries, problems, solutions and experience.

2-5 min Proposing exercise and explanation.

50 min Exercise, 1st part, bending the space following the 45º convention.

Here we will change subject and we will work bending now the space following the 45º degrees convention with a horizontal sense.

50 min Regroup and discuss.

2-5 min Proposing exercise and explanation.

50 min Exercise, 2nd part, bending the space following the 45º convention. 

Here we will change subject and we will work bending now the space following the 45º degrees convention with a vertical sense.

10 min Regroup and discuss and concluding thoughts about space and its representation. 

Supply List 

Any kind of pencil, felt tip pen, fountain pen,… in other words, any drawing tool is welcome, as any sketchbook format or paper, and last, but not least, any colouring tool is welcome.