THINKING THROUGH DRAWING: PRACTICE INTO KNOWLEDGE 27
To begin with, a small drawing.
This little drawing is 10 centimeters high and 15
centimeters wide. It is drawn with wax crayons and
pencil. It is split in two, is about 48 years old and is
now framed and lives in my bedroom. This drawing
depicts my father and I walking with his dog. From
a very young age I drew all the time. Looking at it
now we can see that it is made, and I stress entirely
un-knowingly, using drawing and writing where
marks become words and letters become marks. It
communicates a narrative and suggests that text and
image might work together. It was made as a draw-
ing to describe an event in my life and not as art.
Recently, and as an art and design educator,
I have been reflecting on this little drawing. It has
encouraged me to reflect on my own educational
journey and how I learn. The point I would make
here is that at School learning drawing and using
drawing was entirely mediated through the art
classes. Drawing became something I “learnt” as
part of an art curriculum; the act, process and use
of drawing resided solely in the school art room.
The learning and understanding of a wider range of
subjects and disciplines through visualization, mark
making and drawing was not an option. As a boy,
the message absorbed was that drawing is some-
thing artists do; it belongs to fine art.
In her essay “Traces of Thought and Intimacy”
in The Drawing Book, Tania Kovats writes of draw-
ing and communication; “Part of the reason they
communicate so directly is that drawing belongs
to everyone. Acts of drawing occur all the time-
someone applying eyeliner, doodling whilst on the
phone, or making someone a map on the back of an
envelope. We are all mark-makers.” (Kovats, 2005).
Furthermore, in his introduction in the new
Wimbledon College of Art MA Drawing course
handbook Professor Stephen Farthing wrote that
drawing “doesn’t just belong to one discipline,
profession or subject area, like writing, it is com-
mon property” (Farthing, n.d., p. 5). I really like
this notion of drawing being common property;
it implies a democracy of use and purpose and
removes a perception of hierarchy or of belonging
to one discipline. We all know that drawing can be
a tool for research, reflection, analysis, investigation
and experimentation. It can describe, record, map,
plot, scrutinize, and propose. All of these are trans-
ferable skills and drawing as a process can support
and enhance learning and understanding in many
subjects and disciplines. Knowing drawing and
experiencing drawing can enhance learning.The Bigger Picture of Drawing:
A New Curriculum, A New Pedagogy
Simon Betts
Dean of College
Wimbledon College of Art
University of the Arts London