Jo Ogier Workshop weekend – 7-8 October 2017
Jo’s third weekend workshop here at the Education Centre was a great success. No surprises there! As the topic was “Nature Journaling” we started the first day with a walk by the pond – Jo asking everyone to take a few minutes in silence to “feel” and experience the environment – even the ducks went quiet! There were a range of observations – the sun on your face, the patterns on the water, the breeze on the skin, the sound of birdsong, the scent of the kohuhu, the shade on the tree trunks, the layers of the forest, the ripples on the water, the clematis flowers. Nature Journaling is all about observation – drawing, painting, writing, feeling and keeping a visual diary – it is very much for you.
Then Chris led a walk around the pond with everyone picking leaf specimens and twigs for drawing back at the Education Centre. Jo then demonstrated various techniques (it was a joy to watch) followed by the intense concentration of doing the various drawing exercises – it was very quiet, just like a school exam room or a library! After a shared lunch, everyone was back into it – outside again finding your own special area to sit and draw – the bluebell garden, the pond, the bush, the vegetable gardens – wherever the feeling or subject took you.
The second day was a feast of colour. Starting with colour wheels everyone then used their own colour medium – pencils, water colours etc to go through another set of exercises, with Jo there to help and advise. Again she demonstrated the various techniques first and people then put them into practice. People again went out to take advantage of the glorious weather and different environments – the flower garden and orchards, ponds, tussocks and bush. As Chris walked around she kept finding people in all sorts of unusual places!
Jo said the Education Centre is such a perfect venue for such a course as it combines opportunities for outside study with the comfort of the Education Centre which has good light and excellent views to get you in the right mood.
Although everyone seemed exhausted at the end they all thanked Jo for a wonderfully inspiring weekend. We look forward to Jo’s next workshop – perhaps on printmaking. If you are interested in future courses email Chris and she will put you on the email list. Thanks Jo for coming down from Christchurch and to the ILT for funding our workshops this year and making them very affordable for everyone.
Chris
Posted: 11 October 2017