St Martin-in-the-Fields is home to several commissions and permanent installations by contemporary artists. We also have an exciting programme of temporary exhibitions, as well as a group of artists and craftspeople from the St Martin’s community who show artwork and organise art projects on a temporary basis. One of the initiatives from this group is a changing display of work by the group members. Each month a different member of the group will show an example of their work, so, if you are able, do return to see the changing display.
Alice Bree writes: The Drawing Club at St Martin’s meets for two hours once a month and our teacher Vicky Howard, an art school drawing teacher, has brought a variety of objects for us to draw: stones, bones, vegetables, fruits, shells, berries, seed heads, squashes, leaves, metal objects. She starts us off with an illustrated talk about some aspect of drawing styles she’d like us to consider. We have free use of many drawing tools, and she comes to us individually to comment, suggest and help.
I see drawing as a form of meditation. Sam, our Vicar, has preached about understanding in depth as not just experiencing the existence of something but also at a deeper level it’s essence. Drawing is an exercise that can bring you closer to the essence of something because you have observed it closely for two hours. It is not an intellectual activity but is the difference between looking and seeing reality. Really seeing feels quite different, more to do with heart than head.
It is well known that a large sheet of white paper can be intimidating, so black or a colour as background is less threatening. The drawing of a dead leaf I did at home. Last Autumn I picked up some enormous leaves fallen from a plain tree, intending to draw them, but they dried and shrivelled before I had the time. Everything is worth drawing. These drawings are just a record of two hours of “seeing”.
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St Martin's Voices - Tantum Ergo.
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