On April 16 through April 18, 2015, Christopher and Kathleen Sleboda of Draw Down Books led a workshop for VCFA’s Semester 2 students called “Spontaneous Form—Gesture Made Visual”.

The synopsis from the workshop brief:
In this workshop we will look at examples of mark-making that visually express movement, urgency, and beauty. Participants will work hands-on with experimental techniques to quickly and uninhibitedly construct bold graphics. Emphasis will be placed on eliciting a sense of the “happening” while maintaining simple and spontaneous forms.

Part 1 (April 16)
Objectives—
Emphasis should be on abstraction, pure form and expressive mark-making. Avoid figurative and typographic forms.

Conditions:
1. Harmony
2. Aggression
3. Playful

Part 2 (April 18)
Select your most compelling mark(s) from the April 16 session and create a poster (or posters) that combines the abstract art with typography.

Text to Pair:
1. Out of clutter, find simplicity. (for Harmony)
2. War Against _______________ (for Aggression)
3. Not too little, not too much: there safety lies. (for Playful)

Come to our Saturday meeting with poster(s) completed, printed and trimmed. You may choose to make one poster, a poster for each condition/text, or several iterations of any/all.

The photos here document Part 1 of the workshop. All images courtesy of Draw Down Books.

The workshop, along with Draw Down’s lecture were intellectually stimulating, fun, and one heck of a great time!

Workshop participants:
Ryan Bitzegaio
Jacqueline Brill
Aldrena Corder
Ray Claxton
Sarah Flood-Baumann
Molly Seabrook
Dina Zaccagnini-Vincent
Sarah Davis

Additional workshop participants were our esteemed alumni Troy Patterson and Mary Hanrahan.affiliate link trace | adidas poccnr jumper dress pants size