Drawn threads

  I draw all the time, nothing fancy just what I need to express my ideas and work them out. It is a basic and vital skill if you are creative. At college I was told that if you can't draw you can't design. It's true. If you don't know how to observe, which is what drawing is, how can you know how something works. Drawing makes your brain work better because you force it to be honest and not make assumptions about what you see.
  So with this in mind I have begun teaching my surgeons and surgical students about drawing. It is the first thing we do when we have our embroidery and lacemaking sessions in my studio. There is an apple and there are no instructions other than 'draw an apple'. I leave them in peace for ten minutes and then we try different ways of looking.
  The first thing anyone does when they start drawing is a small picture in the middle of the page. It's all about finding confidence combined with being over familiar with holding a pen to write words. You have to take control of the pencil, the paper,your position, the subject and your brain. That brain is the most important because it is going to tell you lies about what you see !!!!
    To start to break out of the bad habits that your brain has we draw the apple again but really big this time and then we turn that drawing upside down and draw again inside it. Then we move the apple....this may be the first time anyone actually touches it. I suggest another small change in position.....swap hands. Everyone laughs, or groans, but it's okay. To draw with the less dominant hand presents challenges of weight to the line and counteracts the brains' instructions.
  Next is the tricky bit, two pencils one in each hand. This provokes some extraordinary responses;either 1.both hands, one apple, 2. both hands held rigid and two apples drawn in tandem or 3. two apples with two hands !!! So then I suggest they have a look at each others method and try another drawing.
  Whilst everyone draws I talk about really seeing and what that means. We have an interesting discussion about observing patients and how you read a lot before you even speak to the patient. It is interesting for me to see how this plays out in their drawing skills. Those that have creative or craft backgrounds are better at drawing and the more senior they are the better the observational skills. It seems that the art classes at school had an effect even on those who didn't pursue it as a career. They learnt to see. Will students in the future be so able if there are no art classses for them ?
  The last drawing is the first where I allow an eraser to be used, much to the relief of many! I show them how to draw with it instead and how to take control of the paper by lightly scribbling all over it first. When we compare their first drawings with this last one there is a big difference. You can see more dynamism and personality, I can see 'them' in their drawings.
  I read pictures like words and always did as a child. The best picture books had the most sophisticated images, many of them were 'golden age' illustrations, and I relished the details like good food. It felt good to feed my brain .