The Pathways project started with a two day workshop run by Judy Gogh and Janie McLeod. We started by traveling to a quiet lane and chose places to explore. This is where our pathways began. As we started the trail the feelings and senses of the place we found ourselves in let themselves in.

Drawings, photographs, thoughts recorded over two hours of exploration were brought back to the studio.

We put all the work we had produced together and contemplated what we had all brought back. Janie and Judy then led us through a series of exercises - the first 'Taking Your Pencil For a Walk'.

Close your eyes - take yourself to the beginning of your journey, draw with your eyes closed, sense your feelings - then retrace your steps....

We then got to know our work by deriving elements and creating quick new works on paper. This quickly established a working pattern with lots of new ideas being produced.

The last task of the day was a game of chinese whispers - take an original drawing or object or photo - copy it relatively quickly (5 minutes Max). Hide the original and copy the copy. Keep repeating this and see where it leads you.

The results of these exercises was a room full of exciting ideas.

Everyone was there keenly on time on day two. We were treated with a demonstration of oil pastel and turps techniques from Janie McLeod.

Click here for some thoughts and video from the session.

We then began a group exercise - limited pallet of oil pastels (3 colors max) but graphite proved to be a savior. Begin a drawing - 5 minutes then take your colours with you and move clockwise around the room to your neighbors drawing. Contemplate it - respond to it sensitively. 5 minutes work then repeat the movement from table to table. At one point we left our colours behind and had to make do with what was left on the table we arrived at.

Eventually we arrived back at the artwork we started and had time to regain ownership of it.

All these excesses produced a room full of creativity. We discussed the work and were given the challenge of filling two 12" x 12" canvases. Again limited pallet of acrylics were given to work with - no green.

The second set of workshops were run by Gill Crozier and Judith Harrison.

The workshop was very different from the first in that it encountered a very different landscape, we spent a full day exploring the route and then waited a week for the studio part of the workshop. Some participants did some work in the week, many revisited the site.

We met at the foot of a forest track near Rhydycroesau. We were each given a bag of art materials and began walking up the track into the pine forest. Every now and then we were called to stop and given 2, 3 or 5 minutes to creatively respond to what we saw, heard, smelt or felt. Sounds were interesting as gunfire came from shooting ranges near by.

We  eventually turned off the pine forest track and entered a very special indigenous woodland growing amongst rocks and boulders. A great Yew tree had many years ago in a crack of a great rock. Its roots had now fractured the rock and the great Yew towered above it.

When we emerged from the woods we came across expansive views along a valley one side of the hill and the Shropshire plains the other.

The studio workshop started with a colour exercise. What was the colour that most impacted on you? Imagine it – mix up the colour and paint a large block of it. Use another colour against it if you wish, to achieve the effect you want. We were then encouraged to work with what we had started to create our first artwork of the day. Turning to our sketchbooks we continued working on paper building up ideas.

The day continued with us all building a body of work which led on to tackling two canvasses.

It was decided all the work produced will be displayed in the Qube Gallery 6th - 13th October immediately before the Pathways exhibition goes up.