So This Happened at Leigh Art Trail…

SEVEN Show Leigh Art Trail 2017“Like looking through a window into beautiful inner landscapes…” That was just one of the reactions SEVEN’s first Leigh Art Trail show inspired.

So, five months after the SEVEN collective formed, at table seven of The Railway Hotel, we had arrived. We were number three (Planet Leasing) in the 20th Leigh Art Trail.

SEVEN’s first show

To be honest, we weren’t sure what to expect. Just how Leigh Art Trailers would react to sketchbooks as artwork was uncharted territory – plus, we were the first collective to show on the Trail.

Our journey, as some may know, started at Heidi Wigmore’s Creative Journal courses held at Chalkwell Park’s Metal. SEVEN took that premise – using tried and tested artistic techniques (or processes) to kick start creative exploration – and plumbed its potential depths.

Fortunately Heidi attended our late night showing and told us she was “…blown away…” by what we’d achieved. Phew!

From the sea to Planet Leasing

Our LAT odyssey started with the sea – it is Leigh-on-Sea after all. This loose theme, a connective thread if you will, ebbed and flowed throughout the sketchbooks.

From there, we’d come together to share in the processes and explore them individually (get the techniques we used here). The results? Often unexpected. Always wildly different.

Once finished the journals were presented on a special table – trestle legs supplied by Metal – and held in place with striped ribbon, ready for public perusing. People were invited to turn and touch the pages. We encouraged questions. Kids could have a go in our community sketchbook.

What Leigh Art Trailers said

Many were drawn to a particular book or technique. Others were hurriedly box-ticking their way round the Trail. And a few left befuddled.

Other visitors became immersed in the depth and breadth the books had to offer. One or two said they felt as if they were looking through our personal thoughts. At least one person reckoned someone’s shell sketches were a bit Freudian…

Some even took the time to leave a comment in our book or on social media:

“This is absolutely fantastic – I love the connection between each of the books, yet there is so much diversity within them, as well.” – Cat

“Like looking through a window into beautiful inner landscapes. Totally joyful.” – Jen & Xian

“Fantastic, inspiring show.” – Heidi Wigmore

Thank you…

We thoroughly enjoyed our #LAT2017 experience. Thank you to everyone who came to see our sketchbooks, we loved having the opportunity to share our work with you.

But some special thanks must go to:

  • The dedicated and enthusiastic Leigh Art Trail organisers (all volunteers)
  • Planet Leasing for being so welcoming (and making us tea and staying late)
  • The lovely people at Metal who let us use their space (and their trestles)
  • The inspiring and supportive Heidi Wigmore
  • And, Amanda’s husband, Andrew, for his carpentry skills

Keep up with SEVEN

Remember to check out our latest art work and follow our creative adventures over on Instagram.

You can also sign up to our mailing list to keep in the SEVEN loop. We’re not sure what’s happening next, but we’ll let you know when we do!

7 Ways to Kickstart Your Creativity – the methods SEVEN artists love + worksheets!

SEVEN Processes - Leigh Art Trail

If you’ve ever stared at a blank page and wondered where creative types get their ideas from then you’re not alone – the SEVEN collective have too!

What artists like Picasso do

When renowned photographer Brassaï asked Picasso whether his ideas came to him “by chance or by design,”  he said:

To know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing…

The really good ideas, he said, came once he got started.

Easy for him to say, right? Just ‘begin’! Blah!

But there are ways and means to get beginning. Techniques used by creatives – from the Surrealists to David Bowie – to bypass doubt. Simple exercises which propel the blank, blocked or bewildered mind into creative exploration.

And, we’re sharing some of SEVEN’s fave methods, or processes, below. (Want to grab our downloadable worksheets right now!? Simply scroll to the end of the post.)

What inspired the SEVEN Collective

Now, we can’t claim to have got the idea of meeting up, using tried and tested artistic techniques as creative launchpads, and sharing the results in a supportive environment.

Nope, that was down to artist Heidi Wigmore who held a series of Creative Journal workshops at the wonderful Metal Art School in Chalkwell Park, near Leigh-on-Sea, Essex.

There, we found the permission to ‘just have a go’ without judgement or criticism.

For some of us our journals, or sketchbooks, were an adjunct to an already established art practice. For others the workshops marked a return to self expression left unexplored since art college or even school. But it worked for all of us.

So much so, some felt compelled to continue – et voila, the SEVEN collective was born!

The techniques we use to ignite ideas

To make our first collaborative project – exhibiting at Leigh Art Trail 2017 – easy peasy each SEVEN artist chose their favourite ‘process’ from the many we had tried and tested with Heidi.

We all took a shine to a particular method for our own very personal reasons:

  • Love drawing? – how about one minute sketches? Or ‘blind’ drawing?!
  • Think you can’t draw for toffee? – perhaps tracing and layering random images or using stencils could be for you?
  • Want to start somewhere else entirely? – try a word soup (aka Dada poetry) or make threads of thought. Or maybe use a good old map to get the juices flowing.

Use a process to get you started

Our fave creative processes are listed here. Each SEVEN collective member created a worksheet which details how it works and why they love it.

Simply download the ones which catch your eye and have a go. We recommend you try all of them. You never know what’ll wind up capturing your imagination – like Amanda’s swimmers, but that’s another story…

Now it’s your turn to explore:

PS We’d love to see what you create. If you feel inclined to, please share the results with us using #sevenartistsuk on Instagram or Twitter.

PPS These worksheets are for you to download for your personal use and are not meant for public reproduction.

SEVEN at Leigh Art Trail 2017 – the facts, figures + the private view

SEVEN at Leigh Art Trail 2017After months in the making SEVEN’s creative journals are full to bursting with ideas and ready to go on display at Leigh Art Trail 2017!

But what we really need now are some lovely folk – friends, art lovers, curious-types, young and old – to come and peruse our colour-filled, collage-covered creations and get inspired.

Yes, we mean you.

WHERE: Planet Leasing, 91-93 Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1JL

WHEN: Saturday 10th June – Saturday 17th June 2017

OPEN: Saturday 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday 9am-6pm (Sunday closed)

PRIVATE VIEW: Want to meet some of the SEVEN crew and indulge in a tipple and nibble or two? Then we’d love to have your company.

Come along on:

  • Thursday 15th June
  • 6-8pm

Everybody’s welcome!

PS – Check out LeighArtTrail.com for more info on over 80 artists, exhibiting in 52 venues across Leigh, over 8 art-packed days. Including our very own Amanda Jackson and Kerry Doyland – they’re so talented they’re in it twice!