Pottering away

I have been absent from my regular posting duties, sick with something that smelt suspiciously like Swine Flu. I guess I will never find out what exactly it was, but I do have couple of other experiences to share from some recent sessions with Drawing London. The first is a rare example of an early 'dogu', the most ancient and earliest-dated tradition of pottery in the world, going back to the prehistoric Jomon period. This rare collection is currently on display at The British Museum.

The object I selected to draw was enclosed in a case of its own, held delicately upright by a clear plastic clasp. It is the oldest piece in the collection, dating back to 8000-5000BC.

What caught my eye was the simplicity of its form. At approximately 4 cm high and 1.5 cm wide, its simple curves allude perfectly to a womanly form, something that can still be recognised and communicated thousands of years later. In my render I've attempted to capture its textured form and simple lines.

The next visit with the Drawing London group was at the Grant Museum of Zoology. This museum is jam-packed with skeletons, mounted animals and specimens preserved in fluid. The founder, Richard Edmond Grant was mentor to the young Charles Darwin, which makes this museum extra special.

The object I choose to draw in this case was a mole, an animal that spends most of its life underground and are virtually blind. Perhaps my recent reading of Kafka's Metamorphoses has spurred an intrigue in the 'animal beneath us all'.

Carefully placed on a piece of glass and submerged into liquid, I wanted to show how despite its specimen surroundings, it still maintained soft a luminescence and appeared to be frozen in time.