Drawing has an undoubted role in human history. It can shape, provoke, express and organize. It requires only minimal conditions to appear and can be extremely complex in its form, function and meaning. Drawing is a pleasure.
Social drawing is a mean for creating spaces for being together in unpredictable and uncontrolled. When you are drawing with someone you open your self to uncertain and you let the expectations go. Drawing improvisations are meant to facilitate the intuitive way of articulation and by that to unfold and release subconscious and blocked aspects of thinking and feeling. Collective research through drawing is based on the informal knowledge of the group, exposed by unlearning and delving into shared experience.
While drawing, one experiences their own ability to cause a change. One can easily translate a feeling of power connected with drawing a dot on a paper (and thus evoking disturbance in previous relations between all existing elements of the image) to the other fields of being, relating and designing. Aesthetic experience involving time and interaction directs thinking beyond dual, linear, or logic. It reminds one about the qualities which do not fall into strict categories of usefulness, clarity, or coherency.
Participation in the sessions offered by ‘How to draw a Pony’ disturbs the idea of fixed social hierarchy structures, develops the urge to question through actions, enables the experience of power and provoke the willingness to engage. It focuses on one-person scale experience in the context of a group. In the framework of collective activity, we work with the perceptions of one’s own influence, rights, initiative, responsibilities and freedoms, to deepen the understanding of social dynamics. We facilitate creative gatherings to fill in with actions, emotions, dreams, knowledge and questions.
Who we are?
How to draw a Pony – research and experimentation platform, situated in the context of social design, dedicated to broadening the understanding of societal dynamics and interactions through the medium of collective drawing structures. We design and develop social games and facilitate co-creative processes, since 2018 in Amsterdam.
We are two friends, artists and designers – Emilia Grzeczka and Paulina Prokop – we like to draw and we share our experience in that field. We know each other from Poland (Poznan), where we met at the Academy of Fine Arts. We both studied at the same department of Stage Design where we graduated with Bachelor diplomas. After that, Emilia decided to do her Master’s Degree at Painting Department at the University of Art in Poznan. Paulina continued with scenography for the next 4 years at the Theaterschool in Amsterdam. While studying together we had the chance to choose from 16 different drawing studios. From traditional ones to more experimental and conceptual ones. This variety influenced our awareness of the potential that drawing has. For us, drawing is a basic experience of the creation process.
What is our proposal?
Drawing Improvisations!During the meetings, we will experiment with various departure points and tasks to stimulate exploration and play within the action of drawing. The participants will draw all together on one huge piece of paper and they will draw individually. They will fold the paper to cover any traces they left and they will try to draw something they’ve never seen. They will be drawing with the left and the right hand, and both at the same time. They will draw upside-down, drawing and erasing simultaneously, and drawing with non-drawing tools. They will improvise and they will study. First of all, every meetup is intended to be an experience itself, an event, an opportunity to experiment within a group of people through the drawing interactions. Secondly, it can become a form of inspiration, which can be taken out and deepened outside of our program. Our proposal includes regular (long-term) classes, one-day/ short-term workshops or gatherings and meetups for experienced improvisers. These forms can be executed separately or combined in a different ratio, depending on the hosting organization.
For whom and for what reasons?
The manual skills are not our field of focus and thus they are not a requirement to participate in the program. This drawing experience is also suitable for people who are not interested in developing their manual skills, because it’s mainly designed to broaden the understanding of dialogue, artistic exchange and co-creation. It’s meant to develop sensitivity. Sensitivity of space, sensitivity of time and sensitivity of scenario or storyline – in the sense of following changes, their dynamics, their relation to each other and their influence towards entirety. In addition, it is a very accessible and flexible tool to stimulate and support intuitive and pre-conceptual ways of thinking. Our program can potentially influence everyone. There is no limit in regards to age, profession or creative experience. One of the reasons to launch this initiative is to change the popular pre-conceptions about drawing and visuality. We want to share our fascination with the drawing experience as a ground for interactions. Our classes emphasize the role and potential of non-verbal communication. They are based on tacit knowledge and the language of shared visuality, which can be generated spontaneously by everyone, regardless of the technical skill set.
Practical needs:
We need space, paper and drawing tools. Our improvisations don’t require any special equipment. The budget depends on the amount of participants and space conditions. We will use drawing tools like a charcoal, pencils, markers etc. Meetings at which we are planning to work on the bigger sizes of paper might need some sort of wooden boards as the support surfaces. That refers to the spaces where attaching a paper to the walls is not possible. Depending on space conditions we will provide suitable improvisational structures and themes.
Pony method
Draw:
however you like,
whatever you want,
whenever you feel like,
regardless of any rules.
/Contact us to see our detailed program,
particular scenarios and topics./
How to draw a Pony
Tutors: Emilia Grzeczka & Paulina Prokop.How to draw a Pony hosts private and semi-private group sessions and special events for groups from museums, educational and care providing institutions, creative agencies, sales teams, university classes, social clubs, corporations, non-profits and more. Send a request to book a session and we will contact you to confirm availability, discuss the options and provide with all the details.
Book a private group session
Contribute!
If you are willing to contribute to the inclusive aspect of the initiative, you can support it financially, or through allocation of your non-monetary resources, skills and professional expertise. Please, get in touch with us!
Do you have any ideas, suggestions or remark? We are always open to new collaborations and we appreciate feedback.