Tracing in Stillness: Fixing Body, Hand and Eye on the Details of the Physical World View Digital Media

Workshop Presentation
Nancy Long,  Breanna Shanahan,  David Le Rue  

This workshop is grounded in the authors’ practices as teachers and artists in drawing and painting. The session proposes a drawing workshop wherein participants are introduced to a drawing technique referred to as tracings in stillness. The technique refers to rooting the body to a location and fixing the eye and the hand on the details of the physical world, not unlike blind contour drawing. In this instance, however, the technique connects the senses of sight and touch to the landscape, thereby furthering the embodied relationship between the artist and their immediate surroundings (nature, landscape, architecture, public spaces, etc). Participants will capture their chosen setting’s contours by tracing them directly onto a transparent surface, capturing quality details in 20 to 30 minutes of drawing. Ideally, the workshop will take place outside, with a meeting point at the main entrance of the Collegium Witkowskiego, so students can draw part of the landscape in nearby Planty park or some of the facades of the university’s buildings. In inclement weather, alternative locations could include the Collegium Maius courtyard, or a classroom with windows. The workshop will close with a brief discussion on this drawing technique as a pedagogical tool as well as how it may be beneficial in various artistic situations. Prior drawing experience is NOT necessary to attend this workshop. All materials are provided.