Event - Do you know what you look like?
A self portrait class in East London. Book now!
It has always been an aim of mine to make the ‘How to eat alone’ project and podcast as immersive as possible. It’s a podcast about loneliness, after all, and immersiveness breeds connection, connection acts as a salve for being lonely. So I’m running ‘How to eat alone’s’ first ever event — a self portrait drawing class — on Wednesday, 20th September at Host of Leyton in East London.
Before I began working in kitchens and bakeries or writing about food, I went to art school. I studied an Art Foundation and a BA in Product & Furniture at Kingston Uni, then completed a Masters at the Royal College of Art. Whilst I worked as a designer, I also had regular, part time work as a design tutor at my alma mater, Kingston University for 4 years. I loved teaching and one of my favourite jobs was to take students out on drawing trips. Though the only drawing I do now is the odd scribble whilst I’m sitting in coffee shops, I was really inspired by Episode 13’s interview with self portrait photographer, Linnea Bullion to run drawing classes once more in order to explore the art of the self portrait. Why? Well, self portraiture is the ultimate act of self expression. In a society that doesn’t encourage us to like our own appearances, self portraiture can also be considered an act of self love, self assessment and self confidence. It is a real opportunity to study our own appearance and what that might mean to us — what do we look like to ourselves? So come along to my event in September and let’s explore what your face looks like!
In this 2.5, hour session, we will cover capturing expression and essence, making marks and expressing tone before moving onto more detailed portraits. You’ll get a free glass of bubbly at the door (YAY), plus refreshments will be available throughout (teas, coffees etc). Materials will be provided, but feel free to bring your own if you have a favorite medium. It would also be great if you could bring along a photograph of yourself for the final task — ideally a printed out version, but phone photos will do!
You can book here, tickets cost £13. Host of Leyton is a space in Leyton, East London that hosts a variety of pop up events. It is directly opposite from Midland Road Overground station, well connected by bus and not far from Walthamstow Central.
Can’t wait to do some drawing with you!