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Drawabout offers creative way to see Downtown

August 04, 2009 (3:06 pm) | Permanent Link

by Teya Vitu

To draw is to get deep into the heart and soul of the subject, be it a loved one or even a cityscape. That’s the sensation Lynn Fleischman wants to spark in people as they take part in Downtown Drawabout.

The Drawabout takes to the streets from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Aug. 29. Artists (defined as anybody who wants to draw) will get a map at The Drawing Studio, 33 S. Sixth Ave., with 10 Downtown locations to draw and suggested set-up locations. Map pick-up starts at 8:30 a.m.

Teaching artists from The Drawing Studio will be at all 10 locations to provide artistic assistance as needed. Participants can draw at as few or as many locations as they want.

Students at The Drawing Studio get a new perspective on Downtown, and so can other artists at the Downtown Drawabout. Photo courtesy of The Drawing Studio.

Students at The Drawing Studio get a new perspective on Downtown, and so can other artists at the Downtown Drawabout. Photo courtesy of The Drawing Studio.

Fleischman, The Drawing Studio’s executive director, picked the venues herself. Her goal is to give participants a chance to see Downtown like they’ve never seen it before – and record their impressions on paper with pencil, pen brush or any other chosen medium. She doesn’t want to give away all the surprises, but two venues are the “pretty, pink courthouse but from the fourth floor of the Public Works Garage” and the “UniSource Tower from the west side, up close, looking straight up.”

This is much more than a drawing exercise for Fleischman.

“When you pay so close attention to a subject, you create a connection to it,” Fleischman said. “To pay attention is to dissolve separations. To dissolve separations is called love.”

She doesn’t expect drawers to spontaneously fall in love with Downtown, but she does see this event as playing a role in Downtown revitalization. All the art created at the Drawabout will be exhibited at The Drawing Studio from noon Aug. 29 through Sept. 4.

“My whole point is not to sugar coat but to see what it is and connect with what is this moment here. Once you do that it opens up a space to envision possibilities for the future,” she said. Its major point is to unleash the power of art to reflect the community back on itself.

“Where this came from is watching what’s going on Downtown and seeing how difficult it is for varying groups to come to an agreement. It occurred to me (Downtown) is already a vibrant, quirky community. There’s no one better equipped than an artist to interpret that and see this in a fresh light.

“Once we see this in a new light, we are much more equipped to reconceptualize what we think of as the problem and what we think of as the solution.”

It costs nothing to take part in the Drawabout (other than equipping yourself with art supplies, snack, water, maybe a portable stool). But Fleischman wants artists to show up with sponsor pledges similar to per-mile pledges for walkathons. She suggests getting family or friends to pledge money for each drawing or a flat rate for the day.

The proceeds will support Drawing Studio classes for the two dozen or so youths who are involved in the Tucson Police Department’s gang outreach program. For the past two years, four youths in that program have taken part in the Drawing Studio’s summer immersion program for kids.

“The kids connect with art deeply,” Fleischman said. “They have discovered that something they are good at is also of value in the community. Last year, at the opening of the student immersion art show, the (gang) kids were dressed up, brought their families and extended families. Everybody was proud of them.”

Fleischman wants to dedicate a full program to all the gang outreach kids.

“I want to raise $5,000. One hundred artists raising $50 a piece. Five thousand dollars,” she said forthrightly.

Pledge forms can be requested by e-mail at director@thedrawingstudio.org or by phone at 620-0947.

The Drawabout is an outdoor extension of what The Drawing Studio does on a daily basis. Some 1,200 people take art classes there, another 450 senior citizens are served through outreach programs and 100 youth take part in the summer immersion program.

Students include an ESL teacher, retired and current professors, a rancher, an engineer, a nurse, a medical lab technician, homemakers and at least one amateur poker player.

Classes include drawing, painting, printmaking, book art, fiber art and sculpture.

The Drawing Studio offers an escape from daily life akin to playing golf, going to the movies or live theater. But Fleischman stresses that drawing adds another dimension.

“It isn’t just escapism,” she said. “You express yourself. The premise is the skills of drawing open up a lot of other possibilities for people. People here say ‘Gee, I see the world differently now.’ It starts changing how you relate to the world and the people in it. There is an expansiveness that happens.”