The course asks us to try some unusual drawing activities, and to take photo or video whilst working to capture what we do and to aid reflection after the exercise.
I’ve been procrastinating with starting this first exercise, but finally decided to just get on with it and to film it myself as although I had someone willing to help, I was reluctant to have an audience who may become a critic or influencer during the process; I just wanted to get into the experience myself. As a result, I realised that there are times the camera went off angle as I became absorbed into what I was doing, but it also posed a physical barrier at other times. The full video is below.
I started with pouring washing up liquid into an empty sink as suggested in the course material. I’d thought a bit about what I would do afterwards as I’d already read other students blogs about how they’d got on and also picked up some ideas. I’d thought I would use string to see what effect it had on the liquid, I imagined it would create some interesting marks and that it would cut through and drag the liquid quite easily, I’d also thought that I would add some water to change the dimension of the liquid and add some interest.
When I started to pour the liquid, I didn’t have any ideas about how I would direct it but naturally went round and round. As I became aware of this, I tried to be a bit more ‘random’ and tried to get the liquid to reach the sides of the sink, and then held the bottle higher. This, I found, had an interesting effect as it created more squiggly but defined lines. I then held the bottle closer to the sink which created much wider lines which were more controlled by my direction. I also noticed that the lines seemed to dissipate very quickly, so in effect the drawing was changing as soon as it was being created. When I finished, a small amount of water burst from the tap and dripped onto one corner of the liquid which had the effect of creating some bubbles and changing slightly the consistency of that bit of liquid, this was incidental and unintended which I liked.
I then used the string to make some marks in the liquid. It felt like this had no significant effect, and I was quite disappointed – in my mind I had envisaged clear lines cutting through the liquid – I think I may have got this idea from vague memories of using different materials with painting when at nursery and primary school, but in any effect it was not what I expected and the string seemed to more or less glide over the liquid, I made an effort to apply it more heavily but this seemed to have the effect of just dragging the liquid – I therefore gave up very quickly on the string. This is a common trait for me, if something doesn’t go the way I planned or hoped I tend to give in and often that has put me off from experimenting or trying something different. I tend to want to know in advance how something will work or what the outcome will be, and the doing is therefore just to confirm this. However, a core aim for me studying with OCA is to be more explorative and see where this journey takes me, therefore this exercise was useful in that respect and even though I was disappointed I noted what I saw and didn’t let it put me off continuing the exercise.
Next, I started to use my fingers to make marks in the liquid, as the string had really done nothing. At first I just used one finger and again naturally made circular movements, but then I began to use my whole hand and to really ‘dig’ into the liquid. Feeling the liquid seemed to spur me on at this stage; in a way I could feel the marks I was making. This then led me to think about what other kind of effects I could make and I started to gently dab the liquid with my finger tips which gave a sort of dappled effect. I began to feel more of the form of the liquid by moving my fingers very gently over it. As by then I also had lots of liquid on my hand – I started to use my hand to draw the liquid onto the sides. I really enjoyed this part of the warm up, I felt more engaged with the ‘materials’ and the effect I was creating.
Lastly I added water to the drawing. I directed it into one side at first and noticed immediately that it seemed to wipe away some of the liquid creating bubbles, but then appeared to glide over other bits of the liquid. This also made the whole drawing more fluid in its movement. I tried to manipulate the bubbles with my fingers but being more fluid this didn’t really work. Looking back though as I continued to add water it was the tap that I was essentially using as a ‘pencil’ or tool for drawing. The more water I added the more the drawing transformed and continued to change, and I enjoyed this dynamic element.
I enjoyed the exercise overall and I’m glad I did it, I know that its not something I would have thought to do myself and intentionally noting how I feel and observing the effects of what I do is really powerful for me as I feel more absorbed into the process and feel more motivated to experiment and explore.
Below are some photographs of the different ‘drawings’ created during the exercise.
Deborah McAulay 