‘Elements’- 40 days of nature and drawing!

Yesterday was the 40th (and final) Elements, a series of online drawing activities! Thank you so much to everyone who took part, and thank you so much to The Big Draw! Such a brilliant idea to highlight nature in their theme ‘A Climate of Change’.

During Elements, each activity explored drawing as a tool to consider the environments we inhabit, giving us new ways to explore nature, movement, change and chance. In parallel, we also investigated the ‘elements’ of drawing, the basic principles of line, shape, volume and spatial depth (as seen in these images - just a selection from the 40 days!).

I hope those who drew along enjoyed the posts – I send a big thank you as I certainly enjoyed seeing so much inventive and inquisitive work shared! It was very inspiring to see participants studying objects and places in their environments through drawing, and I hope along the way Elements perhaps led to new discoveries about things to appreciate in nature, and in drawing!

For the very last activity, we’re tried a few ways of interacting in nature’s ephemerality and transience, taking time out from life’s relentless flowing, and capturing an impression (however briefly) as it rushes by. Accepting ephemerality also led us to consider how we interact with nature. We all know that nature is under threat due to our destructive ways of living. In ecosystems, everything is in flux as many living processes interact in a delicate balance, and we can’t help affecting nature simply just by being inhabitants of the planet. But by taking notice of these ephemeral processes (aided by drawing), we might perhaps consider the real measurable impacts of our actions – not in far-away remote places, but in nearby environments and in the natural processes all around us.

All the Elements activities are still on Facebook and Instagram at @a.labourne, and participants work can be found in the comments below each post on Facebook and using #aert_elements on Instagram.