Wild Drawing
Embodied, experimental, eco-centric mark-making.
Photo credits (below): Ai Narapol, Martina Colova, Ewelina Ruminska
Drawing IN, OF & WITH NATURE
Whether we find ourselves in the middle of a city or a rainforest, Wild Drawing is about taking a moment to tap into and express instinctual responses to the natural world.
The purpose is not to create works of art that are beautiful or realistic but, rather, reconnect with nature from states of awe, attentiveness and humility. It is a messy, playful practice that emerged from the belief that simple mark-making can help strengthen our connection to the natural world without the need of formal art training, costly materials or endless hours to spare. Moving from micro to macro qualities of the environment, each exercise heightens an embodied awareness of human-nature interconnectedness, in ways that are grounding and non-judgemental.
Film: Cultural Reforesting residency at Orleans House Gallery. Footage by Ellie Mackay, 2021.
Below: ‘Shadow Dance’ triptych created during residency.
Wild Drawing developed during the pandemic. It has since become foundational to the studio practice and shared with groups internationally, from rural England to central New York via the rainforests of Tobago.
The emergence of Wild Drawing is shared in ‘Belonging’, a chapter in Right to Roam’s Wild Service: Why Nature Needs You. The chapter describes how, in the midst of global uncertainty and grief, drawing helped to cultivate a sense of connection and belonging to the wider natural world.
The book science, nature writing and indigenous philosophy to call for mass reconnection to the land and a commitment to its restoration, arguing that humanity’s loss and nature’s need are two sides of the same coin. It was published by Bloomsbury in 2024.
wild service
“The artist Paul Klee once said that “a line is a dot that went for a walk” and that was exactly what it felt like I was doing. Just a few hours ago my whole being had felt condensed to a tiny dark point, a shocked to stillness clay-body retreating from the human world. Here now, though, it felt like the act of drawing was playfully guiding me out into the vastness of the more-than-human world, calling my attention to the myriad life forms that tumbled and glided and scurried around me. Or rather, alongside me. . .”
Wild Drawing as Research
The practice is adaptable for use within academic research projects to support field work and community and public engagement.
Between 2023-24 a collaboration with environmental historians at Queens College in New York evolved the practice into Drawing Heat, forming part of the engagement programme of Wellcome-supported research project Melting Metropolis.
Integrating historical source materials and sensory-led drawing activities, urban historian Dr Kara Schlichting and Bryony Ella led a series of guided walks throughout the city. Drawing Heat illuminated the emergence and impact of urban heat islands through space and time. Read about the development of these walkshops here.
Image: ‘Drawing Heat’ sketch, anonymous, 2024
