The Eye of the Beholder - Drawing & Sketching Outdoors

Learning to behold – drawing and sketching as a tool of sharpening our perception of the world surrounding us.

We are living in fast times in which we are exposed to digital images that we can consume and create at an unprecedented pace. In this class, we aim at resharpening our perception by means of graphical approaches, to again make real tangible experiences and decelerate the processes mentioned above. The technique of exploratory, unbiased drawing is our method of choice to again intensely engage with the structures surrounding us.

When drawing our environment, everything we behold travels through our eyes, arm, and hand onto paper and thus virtually permeates our bodies. When drawing, we truly experience the place and our surroundings. We hear the sounds around us, smell the scents, and are able to recall those precise memories even years later when looking at our work. Drawing is our technique to identify and elaborate atmospheric qualities, to give room to the unremarkable and undiscovered. A skill that is more important than ever in light of the progressing trivialisation and commercialisation of our built environment.

Equipped with a folding stool, sketchbook, and pencil, we will work in the open air for ten days. Our artistic excursions will not only be limited to Weimar with its beautiful spots and motives, but we will also take day trips to locations in the Thuringian vicinity like Eisenach, Gotha, Erfurt, and Jena.

The participants will learn the basics and techniques of drawing. In a sequence of intensive workshops, we will deal with, among others: perspective, image composition, use of colour, and different media and materials.