DRAWING MUSIC: SUSSEX FOLK STORIES

Live Online Class: Tues 23rd April 2024, 18:30 - 19.30 GMT

+ 14 Days Recording Access

Taught by Lucy McGeown and Ray O’Brien

Our classes are always pay what you can!

We are delighted to be bringing you another instalment of our Drawing Music Series. This collaboration between tutor Lucy McGeown and Musician Ray O’Brien looks to explore the different ways we can find connections between art and music.

In this class we will be taking inspiration from George Butterworth (1885 - 1916) and the folk song catalog he collected between 1859-1906.

Butterworth was one of a handful of song collectors of the time and before the world wars he traveled through Sussex, speaking to publicans, farmers, leatherworkers, wives of tailors, to have them sing the songs to him, so he could record the tunes and lyrics.

It is a fascinating lens through which to see English society of the time and as there are no audio recordings, his well detailed notes, alongside the music sheets, are incredibly valuable in documenting this type of storytelling tradition.

These songs were full of dramatic events and bold characters and existed to pass down histories, give moral warning and more often than not, to entertain and celebrate human life.

We will be pairing these songs with the work of lesser known visual artist George Smart (1774-1846). Also known as the 'Tailor of Frant' and an irrepressible eccentric who combined cloth and paper collage with painting to create his unique and charming portraits of local characters and scenes from his home village of Frant in East Sussex.

Smart was a fascinating character and although he did receive acclaim and recognition in his early life, he died and pauper and his artistic career was forgotten for many years until the 1970's when he was once again celebrated.

His ingenuity with materials and boldness of composition are striking and set his work apart from anything else that was being made at the time, a true folk artist and great observer of the world around him.

Butterworth's collection of songs, Smart's artworks, as well as written biographies and letters from other locals, offers us a beautiful and eclectic insight into the people who lived and worked in the area of Sussex towards the end of the 19th century.

Join us for a trip back in time as we immerse ourselves in the songs and melodies of the Sussex tradition whilst creating drawings and collages of the characters they bring to life with humour and wit.

Suggested Materials:

• 8 x Sheets of paper
• Collage materials, paper with colour and pattern and prints (if possible) and even fabrics if you have them!
• Pencil and rubber
• Watercolour paints?
• Gluestick or glue and a brush (using tape is an option but may be very fiddly)

This class is suitable for all levels

Everyone is welcome to join this Pay-What-You-Can class:

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!

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

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS PLEASE EMAIL :

[email protected]

About the Tutor

- Lucy McGeown is an artist and co-founder of London Drawing Group. She lives and works in Margate. Lucy has a deep love of drawing and has an expanded drawing/sculptural practice in which she creates installations and pop-up environments with found objects that are based on drawing principles.

@ lucymcgeown / @londondrawinggroup

- Ray Brien, described as a musician ‘with great poise and understanding’, is a ‘powerful communicator through music’, as a freelance clarinetist and composer based in London, UK. Recent BBC Radio 3 performances include Birmingham Contemporary Music Festival’s Birtwistle celebration (Linoi for clarinet and piano) and the Total Immersion series of Detlev Glanert with BBC Symphony Orchestra. After winning the Hatfield and District Music Festival he has also recently performed the Nielsen Clarinet Concerto with DeHavilland Orchestra. They are artistic director of Thinking Minds Project and enjoy working just as much with new-music and improvisation as they do with solo recital repertoire.

@rayclarinet / @thinking_minds_project

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

We have been in touch with Eventbrite, and they have informed us that 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 delete the phone app (especially if you’re a regular!) or book tickets to our events outside of the iOS app - either via a web browser or a desktop.

And that's it!

We're really looking forward to you joining us.

Love,

LDG