Draw from what you see!

'Table Top' by Ellen Benson - mixed media life study in tapestry frame

OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING CLASSES
At Travellers Café

Level 2, 169 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia

(TUES AFTERNOONS 1:OO – 4:OO PM)

Bring along a sketch book, notify the front desk that you are here for the class and enjoy a coffee and learn to draw from what you see!

Each week our Artist-in-Community Residence ‘Ellen Benson’ will set up an installation of Organic and Synthetic objects for you to draw inspiration from.

Each week our artist, Ellen, will introduce you to a different range of materials – you are free to use any medium you like though. There is no tutoring cost involved, you have to provide your own materials – artist will have some on hand for you to try and you may have the opportunity to purchase materials from the artist. If you wish to leave a donation to Travellers Aid in exchange for our artist’s services, please contact our front desk.

Each Tues Afternoon Ellen will show you observational drawing examples from a range of artists from different movements/time periods and in different mediums.

Ellen’s teaching approach is to introduce you to exercises that encourage you to look and put - Ellen will not govern your creative choices or touch your page (unless asked)!

Artist Profile: Ellen Benson

I, Ellen Benson, have been sponsored by the City of Melbourne as the Travellers Aid Artist-in-Community Residence. My work is conceptual, the idea dictates the materials and craftsmanship involved. The images displayed here are from numerous bodies of work.

Ellen Benson Contact Details:

personal blog:
http://sleepingpirate.blogspot.com
mob: 0416859943
email: zzzpirate.gmail.com

Artist Statement for my current, unrelated personal work:

‘Most Handsome Seen From Afar’ presents an exploded view of a Waratah. Abstracting individual Waratah stamen with its’supporting bract to heighten the awkward sexy aesthetic of a ‘large man in a boat'. This ‘large man in a boat' both celebrates and parodies our bourgeois and curious ‘men’ of science, specifically Carolus Linnaeus and Joseph Banks, our prime patriarchs responsible for the most common system of plant classification, observation and documentation.

images from miscellaneous bodies of work:









Melbourne Contemporary Artist Ellen Benson has donated Four Life-Drawing Ink Sketches for sale as part of our Travellers Aid Contemporary Art Folio. To request a viewing please visit our front desk at Level 2, 169 Swanston Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia.

To view Ellen's profile as well as any future Artist Profiles please click on the Artist Profile label at the bottom of any Artist Profile posts.

Making Headway,

Ellen Benson
(Travellers Aid Artist-in-Community Residence)

Traversing via Creative Dialogue: Resident Artist Ellen Benson and Artist Rebecca Delange Talk using their Bodies, Found Stuff and Subjective Minds

"The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse. "

-Helen Keller (1880 - 1968)

Rebecca Delange 'Paper Project' Installation Cross-section, 2006


Ellen Benson 'Mapsway' Installation Cross-section, 2005

Talk of Myself, Resident Artist Ellen Benson and Rebecca Delange undergoing a collaborative project has been brewing since late in '05 when Rebecca and I realised we had a shared interest in the Individual and Collective Body in relation to Space, Time and Movement. Individually, we expressed this interest via physical and performative installation by private manipulation of expected public trajectories and architecture. An interest in sourcing found, already existing materials from their humble surrounds is also a shared personal preference for us both as artists.

We are now consolidating this shared interest in the form of a creative and collaborative installation itinerary. If you would like to join a mailing list to hear more about this please email me: zzzpirate@gmail.com and stay tuned for future updates!

Making Headway,

Ellen Benson
(Artist-in-Community Residence)