– by Matthew Delaney –
January is often a gloomy month. After the festive cheer of December, the start to the New Year can feel a little daunting for some. So this January I decided to put art into action to offer glimmers of hope and laughter amidst those darker evenings.
Ink doodling is something I’ve found myself doing more and more. When I’m trying to concentrate, my mind frequently wanders into tangents, expressing some of the thoughts racing through my head. A love of typography has led to this expressive doodling becoming more and more elaborate over time. From observing techniques used in graffiti and urban art, I’ve developed my own custom style. With mental health being such an important topic, and one foremost at the heart of Centrepieces, I wanted to share the techniques I’ve developed and offer our community the opportunity to create some positive affirmation ink doodles of their own that could help to empower and uplift them. Over two sessions, the workshop explored the techniques I typically employ in my work – ranging from types of lettering, to shadow-hatching and accent-detailing, and even the different effects you can achieve from using types of paper. Lined paper and newsprint especially can evoke a wonderful finish when the ink doodles are coloured.
The first session explored how to use the simple techniques to create a piece of visual word art – encapsulating a positive message or thought. The second session took this a step further by looking at how visual elements can be included to boost the overall impact of the typographic art. The artists really got stuck-in and produced some fantastic pieces – from birds, to books, and even musical notation. The atmosphere in the workshops was extremely positive and everyone had a fantastic time. A lot of the artwork produced has now formed a wonderful display at the Pop-Up to help promote mental health wellbeing.
Essentially, this workshop was all about offering some light in what is, for many, a difficult point in the year. Just like the physical seasons, hope and light are just around the corner like the first buds of spring. From personal experience, December and January are very challenging months for me and I know how much of a struggle braving those longer hours of darkness can be. I really wanted to offer some hope and positivity in my own little way, and show people one way I’ve learnt to nurture those seeds of hope for the times ahead.
