Snowflakes and festive natural patterns

21 December 2018

In the last two sessions of Maryhill art group in 2018, with it getting closer to Christmas (and also the fact that the centre staff asked if we could make some decorations for the building) we had festive pattern themed groups.

Folk seemed to take to this well, combining craft and drawing. Following our guidance they folded and cut thin paper snowfalkes in a variety of designs, mounting onto coloured paper or colouring the shapes of the negative spaces.

We also had some free doodling time, with natural geometry and more chaotic textures to look at such as fractal shapes, or of ice cracking, and this helped us create more free festive patterns such as with stars and simple trees.

We hung and stuck on the walls many of the pieces in the Maryhill Hub building. Mince pies, chocolates, tea and ginger cookies helped make the nights enjoyable and relaxed 🙂

Kindly supported by Glasgow Connected Arts Network

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Swimming through the kelp forest

20 December 2018

Continuing our mysterious doodly journey into the environment of sea and shore, we began with some imaginative doodles of the moon above the sea, inspired by some old poems.

Thinking about the sea creatures and kelp and coral, we also wrote a few words about it.

After developing our own individual pieces with Posca paint pens and Prockey water based markers, we cleared some space on the tables for two large rolls of paper to be spread out and worked on.

These were fun relaxing pieces, and we had a kind of musical chairs so we could shift around and everybody could work on different parts of the drawings and look for ways to collaborate with other folk’s markmaking.

Our aquatic shapes and creatures grew in the piece, moving and swaying with the sea current as we drew on. A shoal of fish passed near rocks on the sea bed, then swam through the translucent green kelp, and an octopus rested near a starfish.

It was great having the shell collection there to touch, smell and look at, and listen to as well, feeling the varied textures and listening to the strong sound of the sea. So refreshing!

Kindly supported by Glasgow Connected Arts Network

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Exploring shells and corals

16 December 2018

We started a two week mini project based on a shell – sea theme, using fantastic collections of shells, sea stars, urchins, corals, pebbles and foraged ceramic pieces from the shore, all brought in by the folk in the group.

Thanks for bringing these, they were really stunning, delightful and curious objects opening up a new underwater world. Though the star fish really did smell of old socks!!

After some easy going drawing our hands shapes to get us started, we then talked and listened a little about the sea theme, and drew some patterns from the shells and corals, bringing in some words and poetic drawn letters to the pieces.

We had freedom to develop larger drawings on A3 and A2 cartridge paper with pens or pastels, looking directly at the objects or being more imaginative to explore the sea and natural environment of the shore.

Kindly supported by Glasgow Connected Arts Network

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Connecting to forest floor textures into imaginative landscapes

15 December 2018

Part of the last Maryhill Art Group had been looking at leaves from nearby the HUB community centre, and this time we too that in a slightly different step by investigating things from the forest floor and ground gathered around the nearby river and pathways.

After some time to chat, doodle some free flowing continuous shapes, and some meditative settling and poetry related to the theme, we explored our ideas and inspiration in various ways.

It was really fascinating to see what we would come up with, and how different participants explored their ideas in varied ways. We looked at the small foresty objects and found ways to expand the textures and shapes into larger landscapes.

As we went on we experimented with different materials, combining inks with oil pastels and noticing the contrasting feel of these materials, the oily waxy vibrant opaque colours of the pastels which blend so well and the fluid transparent softly brushed inks..

Kindly supported by Glasgow Connected Arts Network

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Pattern and pathways – connecting with the environment

29 November 2018

We had an energetic and creative night at Maryhill Art Group to restart our fun relaxed sessions in the Maryhill Hub!

We used different methods to interact with the environment, beginning with some doodly expression with pens then drawing our journey to the building and considering the shapes, roads, bends and natural- urban aspects on the way. Some of the roads were a bit of a maze!

Listening to poetry connected with autumn and using mindful calm relaxation we settled down, and listened to some more words about the environment and the season.

Then we started writing some words related to what we had heard and thought, from which we drew to develop this, and some folk preferred to draw and other to write. We also drew the words in a visual way.

Feeling the textures of local leaves from the park and riverside, such as maple, sycamore, and horse chestnut, and looking at these, smelling, connecting with our senses.. making them a lot easier and more natural to draw! The pastels and pens were nice and colourful to use for these pieces.

Kindly supported by Glasgow Connected Arts Network

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Funding for Maryhill Art Group awarded by Glasgow CAN

22 October 2018

We are delighted to let you know we have received funding from Glasgow Connected Arts Network (Glasgow CAN) for our community group in The Maryhill HUB to take us to the end of March 2019.

The next Maryhill Art Group will be inspired by nature, it is a very easygoing evening session and open to anyone to come along, and no art experience is needed. There is more info on our website.

Maryhill Art Group Event Page

Past Maryhill Art Group activities

Category: News Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Maryhill Art Cave!

14 October 2018

Over two Thursday evenings we had a lot of fun together on a pattern/ pictogram project. First we looked at examples of old ways of visual communication and language from around the world, from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Chinese Kanji to Pictish symbols from Scotland and Native American symbols, which inspired us to experiment ourselves with new ways to convey natural things using visuals or pictures rather than written words.

The first week we spent the time finding our own drawing patterns for various objects and experiences, such as grass, bark, person, dancing, leaves, clouds, using pens and different papers.

In the second week we continued this to begin the night, making a page for rain, or raindrops, insects, flowers, trees..

Then we laid out a wide roll of cartridge paper, set out some ink colours and brushes, sponges and began pattern – pictogram making. We moved around the piece as it developed, which was very quickly!

Some of the symbols and characters were quite mysterious, and we brought in other styles of shapes to create or deepen something about the meaning. One or two of the group didn’t want to reveal the meanings of their characters which made the process more fascinating to be part of!

As we worked we had a wee look at all our collected single A4 sheets to help guide us, and chatted about how we could bring the piece together, how much white space to keep, and ideas to let the visual symbols interact.

It surprised us just how natural it felt to work and communicate this way, it wasn’t forced or laboured. In a way making the piece transported us into a more ancient type of markmaking seen in cave or rock symbols, freeing and flowing 🙂

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Vibrant collage and crafty bold shapes

5 July 2018

This week we picked up on the shapes of the garden courtyard, buildings and summer foliage that we had explored with A4 drawings the week before.

We used collage and some simple craft cutting and sticking this time, combined with the lovely transparent inks, with pastels, to explore these rhythms of shapes.

This was much more free than the week before with enough time to experiment with composition and layout and get a feel for the possibilities of the different art materials.

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Summer drawings from the courtyard

28 June 2018

It was a bright day in the Maryhill Hub, and beautiful looking out the large windows to the garden courtyard and plants and vegetables growing there.

We started with some doodly drawings based on the shapes in the courtyard, such as the raised beds, organic shapes of plants and triangles and rectangles in the surrounding buildings.

Then we drew some close up green ferns pine needles with pens on A4 sheets, followed by a series of drawings with various papers with different surfaces, using lead or oil pastels to explore tones, colour and the organic textures.

It was really pleasant to see everyone’s drawings together on the floor at the end of the group, it was also a lovely atmosphere with a few new folk being welcomed to take part.

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group

Colours of heather, hill and forest

15 June 2018

At the last Maryhill art group we used pastels to develop some landscapy pieces and textures, inspired by images of the Highlands and a wee book of poetry and art by Hamish Fulton ‘Wild Life – Walks in the Cairngorms’.

Category: Art Groups Tags: Community Groups, Maryhill Art Group