Yesterday I took part in the fantastic Big Draw Living Lines event at Sheffield’s Millennium Gallery. Jim Le Fevre was there with his Phonotrope, there was a buzzing Ready Steady Colour Restaurant, Henk Littlewood built a da Vinci style giant bridge out of bamboo poles and rope, while Marf the cartoonist walked round drawing portraits … just some of the amazing people there to inspire everyone to have ideas, and get drawing!
It was lovely to meet Anne Murphy, Lord Mayor of Sheffield, who came to see what was going on. I’d visited Sheffield some time ago to find out about feisty bearded ladies for my Hair book (published by Walker Books) in the university’s fairground archive, so it was great to come back to the city and encourage children to make Whose Legs! foldy books, maybe incorporating images of these ladies …
This little girl’s friend (Alfie the cow) featured in her book …
Children drew heads, bodies and legs on simple cut and folded flaps so they could swap body parts around – great fun, and some wonderfully inventive drawings from participants of all ages.
And if you didn’t feel like making a Whose Legs? book, you could always draw a pirate’s treasure map – one of them rather mysterious …
Lovely note sent from Big Draw director: “Thank you so much for your wonderful contribution to “Living Lines” in Sheffield. We hope to work together again very soon.”