Week 1   We will start the drawing course with a session on mindfulness drawing. Using a pen and paper (a black biro or marker pen is useful for this exercise) we will make a Zentangles drawing within the outline of a human body – head, arms, body and legs. 

Week 2   This week will be an observational drawing exercise where the subject will be a piece of fruit cut in half. This could be strawberries, a lemon, tomato or a watermelon, anything that is readily available in the supermarket or in your own home. It's interesting to cut the fruit in half so we get to draw the external skin as well as the internal structure.

Week 3   This will be a session of drawing using the sense of touch. We will spend the session touching our faces and making drawings on the basis of the touch of our fingers rather than the use of our eyes. This is a great way of circumventing the need for a fixed outcome in the drawing and value judgements on the finished work. It is about the connection between the mind, the sense of touch and the pencil.

Week 4   Another observational drawing session, using a leaf. Choose a leaf that you would be interested to draw, it doesnt have to be in pristine condition and can be any type of leaf that you like. We will spend the two hour drawing session making a careful and detailed study of a humble leaf and strengthen our drawing skills in the process.

Week 5   Drawing circles. The object of this session is mindfulness and calm. Using a pen and paper we will draw circles, making sure not to rush and making sure that each circle is carefully closed. The object of this exercise is to concentrate the mind on the task of drawing each small circle as carefully as possible. It is a lovely exercise in slowing down and paying attention. Through the course of the session we will fill an A4 piece of paper with carefully drawn circles using this meditative method.

Week 6   Observational drawing session where the subject is one of our own eyes. Eyes are not round and nor
are they simple things to draw, so we will spend the two hour session drawing just one of our own eyes. We will learn how the eyelids are formed around the eye, and how to draw the varied forms, highlights and shadows around and within the eye.

Week 7   Memory and drawing. This week our subject will be a small object that is easily held in the hand. A small ornament or a bulb of garlic or similar. We will spend some time observing the object before placing it out of the eye's reach and making a drawing of what we can remember. We will repeat the process a number of times to check our drawing against our memories and to discover what our memories are retaining about the object.

Week 8   Observational drawing session using our own hand as the subject. Hands are notoriously hard to draw but this two hour session will break the subject down into a series of shapes before beginning to add shade and tone.

Week 9   Shoes. This week the participants are asked to draw a single shoe. Shoes are so evocative of a human presence and they also come in a variety of shapes and forms. Their inside is often visible at the same time as their outside. This presents a number of challenges to the artist and we will spend the session making an observational pencil drawing of the shoes.

Week 10   Drawing pattern. This week the attendees are asked to choose from patterned items of their clothing and arrange a small still life to draw from. We will think about and draw the different textures of the materials and the patterns within them. We will spend some time talking over the difference between texture and pattern before starting the drawing.

The only materials required are pencils and paper, plus the subject of each weeks session

Marianne Walker is a London-based artist who gained an MA in Sculpture from Wimbledon College of Art in 2002 and received the Observer Magazine New British Artist Award for her final exhibition, a pencil drawn installation.

Marianne sees her practice as sitting right on the cusp between drawing and sculpture. She is always attempting to draw across three dimensions, to bring the drawn mark into the real world. To date she has made drawings into films and installations as well as more traditional works on paper.

All our online courses are taught live which means you will be taught alongside other students on the course by a tutor at a specific time. To take part in the course you must be able to attend the online session at the time stated for the course description.

All times stated are British Standard Time.

To take part you will need a computer, or laptop, or tablet computer, connected to the Internet. The device you use will also need to have a camera, microphone and speakers. Most devices now have these built in, but if not you might have to buy them from a computer shop and to connect them to your device.

Zoom

This course will use Zoom as its online delivery method. Zoom is very easy to use and you do not need to set up a Zoom account to use it. Near the date of your first online session you will be sent an email with a web address (or URL) that will allow you to access the course. This is called the Course Link. All you need do is click on the Course Link in the email and you will be asked to enter your name. This is the name that will be seen by your tutor and other students in the class.

Once you have entered your name you might be asked to enter a password to enter the class. The password will be included in the email sent to you. Once you enter the password you will either be taken directly into the class, or asked to wait in a virtual waiting room until the tutor is ready to let you into the class.

We have also produced a Handy Guide to Zoom [pdf] which gives you basic information on how to use it.

Rate Categories and Discounts

Standard Rate

• Applicable to all except those who fall under the Internal Rate or Associate Rate category, respectively.

Internal Rate

• Current Imperial College students and staff (incl. Imperial NHS Trust, Imperial Innovations, ancillary & service staff employed on long-term contracts at Imperial College by third-party contractors)
• Individuals enrolling under our Friends & Family scheme
• Staff of the English Chamber Orchestra
• Current Centre for Languages, Culture and Communication (CLCC) staff, current CLCC PhD students, Science Communication (Sci Comm) postgraduate students, and students enrolled on an Imperial College 'Language for Science' degree programme should contact eveningclass@imperial.ac.uk before completing the online enrolment form

Associate Rate

• Alumni of Imperial College and predecessor colleges and institutes
• Austrian Cultural Forum staff
• City & Guilds College Association members
• Cooperative College Members
• Francis Crick Institute staff, researchers and students
• Friends and Patrons of the English Chamber Orchestra
• Harrods staff
• Historic Royal Palaces staff
• Lycee Charles de Gaulle staff
• Members of the Friends of Imperial College
• Members of the Kennel Club
• Members of the London Zoological Society
• Members of the South London Botanical Institute (SLBI)
• Members of the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP)
• Natural History Museum staff
• National Health Service (NHS) employees
• Residents of postcodes SW3, SW5, SW7, SW10 and W8
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council staff
• Royal College of Art and Royal College of Music tutors and other staff
• Royal Geographical Society staff
• Science Museum staff
• Staff of Exhibition Road Cultural Group (Discover South Kensington) organisations
• Students (non-Imperial College)
• Teachers and other staff of UK schools
• Tutors and other staff of institution members of the Association of Colleges
• Tutors and other staff of other universities and higher education institutions
• Victoria and Albert Museum staff

Late enrolment

It is possible to enrol on many CLCC Evening Class and Lunchtime Learning programmes after the course has started. For non-language courses this is subject entirely to agreement by the tutor. For language courses it is subject to agreement by the language Coordinator conducting level assessment. If you want to join a course late do bear in mind there might be work you will need to catch up on, particularly in language courses.

Applicable terms & conditions

Please read the Terms and Conditions [pdf] before enrolling on any course.

Web enrolment starts 5 November 2021

Enrolment and payment run through the Imperial College eStore. Please click on the blue booking link on the relevant course page noting below instructions:

• Our rate categories are explained on the course page and your applicable rate category must be selected on the eStore
• First-time eStore users please create an account by entering an email address and password. These credentials should also be used for future bookings. Imperial College users please note the eStore is not a single-signon College system
• The booking process involves entering payment details after your course choice and applicant details are collected via an in-built questionnnaire
• The following email notifications are sent:

Questions regarding the content and teaching of the above course should be sent to the tutor, Ms Marianne Walker, mwal23@hotmail.com