Workshop!

Oh, it was good.

John and I got all the materials together --light tables, transparencies, whiteboard markers, field guides -- and took them up to the BG Centre. The burglar alarm went off again, but its rather sedate beeping was inaudible from inside the classroom, so we just explained to the security company that rang in every ten minutes and otherwise ignored it. We took down the chairs, rearranged the classroom's tables, opened the curtains, and set everything up. I nipped off briefly to collect some lemonwood and kohuhu samples to draw... and then we waited the fifteen minutes til people started turning up.

Only three came, in the end -- 3 apprentices from the Garden. When I started chatting with the first, shortly after she arrived, she told me she couldn't draw. I downplayed it, saying that most people who tell me that turn out to be delightfully wrong. Shortly after, I had two more students and we were starting. John gave me a brief introduction and left me to it.

I launched straight into the talk I've been preparing all week. Why illustrate when we have photos? I asked, and gave them two answers. Four features of a good illustration came next, along with advice on reconciling the contradictory ones. My drawing process, step-by-step and annotated: specimen collection, study, pencils, blow it up - ink it - shrink it, computer cleanup. The apprentices had a few questions, and all listened with clear interest. When I'd finished talking, they asked eagerly to see my sketchbook. I showed them, taking a few opportunities to point out principles I'd used well or poorly. After that I broke out the samples, challenged them to pick good ones, and we settled down to drawing.

How the time flew after that! I offered guidance and encouragement, helping them arrange the specimens and compose their drawings. They all proved any "I can't draw" assertions wrong in pretty short order -- sure, one had a spot of trouble with the undulate leaf edges and another worked a bit slowly, but they all produced good work! It was a very fine first show.

None of us even glanced at the clock til 15 minutes before it was time to clear out, so absorbed were we all. At that point I broke out the light tables and demonstrated inking, then set them loose on premade copies of my Pittosporum drawings (we had no copier up there, or I'd have had them ink their own). They produced some very passable tracings in those 45 minutes, and each clearly developing her own style. Best of all, when our lease was up and they headed home, they all took the samples with them to finish their drawings at home and talked eagerly of taking the drawings to the Garden's copier come Monday. Now that they've taken the plunge, they're enjoying this enough to want to continue!

The minute we closed the door behind them, I finally let the bubble of gleeful laughter pop. "What're you laughing at?" John wanted to know. I assured him that "this is my oh-my-god-that-went-well giggle". "Well, it's a good thing one of us has some faith in you!"

I've more or less been walking on air since then. Fantastic!