A FEMINIST’S GUIDE TO DISNEY: DRAWING MARY BLAIR

Online Live Class: Thursday 18th May, 18:30 BST

+14 DAYS RECORDING ACCESS

Taught by Luisa MacCormack

Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, perhaps you remember these films fondly from your childhood, but did you know that these incredible feats of animated beauty owe much of their ineffable character and charm to an amazing female animator? Mary Blair was one of the few female animators in the early 20th Century who managed to forge a path through the deeply misogynistic halls of the hallowed Disney Animation studios.

Mary Blair played a key role in shaping the iconic visual style of beloved classics such as "Cinderella," "Peter Pan," and "Alice in Wonderland." Beyond her role in animation, Blair's artistic influence extended to her imaginative concept art for Disneyland attractions, creating enchanting and immersive experiences for generations to come. If you would like to learn more about her history, the Invisible Women Archives gave a fantastic lecture on her here;

This session will explore the INCREDIBLE oeuvre Mary left behind, exploring the processes she used for both character development and concept art for some of her most iconic films. Our tutor Luisa will be offering lots of demonstrations and exercises that will help you both to build some Blair inspired skill sets, but most importantly, to let go and have fun with the characters we create!

This session will also explore the medium of GOUACHE, although it isn’t totally essential that you have them to hand. Gouache is a fabulous medium that is somewhere between a watercolour and an acrylic, and is really great for layering and quick work, they are cheap and available at amazon or your local art store. ❤️ Luisa will be exploring and demonstrating using this amazing medium so it will be a great chance to get stuck in!

A true trailblazer in a predominantly male industry, Mary Blair's legacy continues to inspire artists and enthusiasts alike. Join us for this fascinating session as we uncover the magic behind the scenes and celebrate her enduring impact.

YOU WILL NEED

Good quality paper (one that won’t warp too much with water applied)

Gouache (or watercolour/acrylic)

Pencils

ABOUT OUR TUTOR

Luisa is a Fine Artist and Feminist Educator working across a variety of mediums, with a focus on sculpture and drawing. A founding member of the London Drawing Group, Luisa teaches drawing, and Feminist Art History of classes across London, as well as exhibiting regularly in solo and group shows across the country. Luisa is also the founder of The Feminist Lecture Program, a weekly online gender studies program which you can find here https://feministlectureprogram.com/

FAQs - Please read these thoroughly so you can be fully prepared for the class:

WHO IS THIS FOR:

This class is suitable for ALL LEVELS.

TICKETS:

We suggest an amount of £20. However, we understand that may not be possible for everybody. Please be honest and pay what you can afford so that we may continue to offer our sessions on this basis whilst also giving our tutors a sustainable wage.

There is also a ticket option to "Pay It Forward" to support us and our students! We offer classes for free to those who can't afford the minimum amount (If this is you please email us to join for free). This continues to ensure our classes are available to everyone!

ONCE BOOKED:

You will receive a confirmation email and be able to access information on how to join the event via your eventbrite "Online Event Page" You can access this by signing into eventbrite or creating an account using the email address that you booked with.

IN THE CLASS:

You can't be seen or heard in our classes, your audio and video are automatically turned off and there's no way these can be turned on. You can talk to us and others in the class in the chat box!

AFTER CLASS:

We love to see your drawings or anything else our classes inspire! You can share them with us by tagging us on instagram (@londondrawinggroup) or emailing us if you don't have socials.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BOOK VIA THE EVENTBRITE PHONE APP?!

We have been in touch with Eventbrite, and they have informed us that currently you cannot book tickets to online events in their app. It's very frustrating and we have been assured they are working on a solution. In the meantime, we recommend that you book tickets to our events outside of the iOS app - either via a web browser or a desktop. If you book our classes regularly we recommend deleting the eventbrite App.

RECORDING ACCESS

We will email the recording link to everyone who has booked approx 2 hours after the live class finishes. This will be available to watch anytime within 14 days.

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL:

[email protected]

And that's it!

We're really looking forward to you joining us.

Love,

LDG