Urban Heritage Park in Manchester, USK Symposium

[by Veronica Lawlor in Manchester, UK]  I’ve just returned from a wonderful time at the 7th annual Urban Sketchers symposium in Manchester, England. A big THANK YOU to Simone Ridyard and the rest of the hard working symposium committee for making this event come together. 

I taught a workshop called “Puzzling Out The Picture,” about picture making and dimension on location. I could not have asked for a more amazing place to teach this than the Castlefield section of the city, the first Urban Heritage Park in Britain.

Castlefield fueled the Industrial Revolution through a system of canals, tunnels, and railway viaducts. It’s like an 18th century cathedral village, constructed of brick, stone and steel. 

Many technological advances were pioneered here in the pursuit of industrial power through coal. And it is unbelievable to draw. I found myself reaching for new ways to depict the sheer enormity and infinity of space in front of me. Some of my collages are below.

I can’t wait to return to this most unbelievable area.

The interesting thing about the way it’s designed is how it grew by attrition. Train tracks criss-cross over bridges, which criss-cross over canals. Under the bridges there are large supports and columns made of steel that seem to go on forever into infinity. 

It was like looking at a cubist painting right in front of my eyes. Amazing. I’m glad it was designated a national urban heritage park in the eighties.

Thank you to Urban Sketchers for another wonderful experience. 

Next year’s symposium is in Chicago – can’t wait!

If you’d like to see more of my drawings and collages of Castlefield, please visit my personal blog HERE.