BAM Orlando - The Black Architects in the Making organization put it into a mission to introduce, entice, excite, and encourage the younger generation of color, and those who identify as such, to pursue a career in architecture, and they couldn’t have chosen better partners for their vision other than the Orlando Urban Sketchers Chapter (USkOrlando).
Being true to the Urban Sketchers Organization vision & mission and its Education values, the Orlando sketchers answered BAM's call and teamed up to create and run a set of urban sketching workshops - Beginners' intro to a free-hand on-location drawing from direct observation.
The event took place on May 28, 2022, in the new Winter Park Public Library.
Being a group of local architects and urban sketchers, the USk Orlando team focused on building a workshop curriculum that can fit young Middle&High school students where urban sketching and architectural drawing might be a first-ever experience to them.
The park located at the library’s backyard was the perfect setting for an on-location urban sketching workshops & demo stations. This setting allowed the students learning to draw from direct observation, and experience hands-on watercolors painting, and ink drawing.
To bring the students into the urban sketchers spirit our workshop begun with a meet&greet and sketching warm-up session on the second floor of the library’s building.
Children escorted by their moms stepped into the greeting room, shy but curious. It was then when all moms asked for drawing pads and wanted to join their kids in this urban sketching experience, that laughter and joy rolled in and our students' group occupancy has
instantly doubled up!
ICE BREAKER - by Gay Geiger.
A warm-up through free-hand sketching took place in the library's imaginary room.
Under trees canopy and sun blocker tents we divided our students into four groups, each attending a different outdoors workshop station in rotation:
UNDERSTANDING SPACE
basics of perspective - by Greg Bryla
TWIG & INK DRAWING
by Art Esteban
COLOR CHOICES
by Vashti Foggie
PLAYING WITH WATERCOLOR
by Noga Rose
The USkO three-hour urban sketching enrichment program has planted seeds in the minds and hearts of the young BAM students. Implementing short demo sessions in rotation helped us gain their full attention and focus as they took their first steps experimenting and learning basic architecture drawing elements: Perspective drawing concepts they were guided to draw as they observed their surroundings, assessing the distanced space. They were given tools to draw from observation daily subject matters using sustainable drawing methods such as hand-carved twigs dipped in ink. They were taught color choices warm-to-cold and values and practiced drawing with colored pencils. They were introduced to watercolor pigments and practiced color washes methods over urban sketches in a playful way.
On and all, a glimpse into the architectural drawing world via urban sketching art concepts.
Urban Sketching wrap-up time back at the library.
💜💜💜Big thanks and hugs go to the moms who signed up their children for the BAM-USkO joint program, for appreciating the value of supplementary education provided to our children - leaders of the tomorrow - by Central Florida's Art & Architecture community members, and... for sketching with us!
Our sincere gratitude goes to the visionary BAM leadership team and volunteers; Seher Hashmi, Malcolm Jones, Cameron Hoskins, and Gregory Stock, to the USk Orlando Instructors volunteers: Greg Bryla, Art Esteban, Vashti Foggie, Gay Geiger, Noga Rose, Danielle Pfanz, and to the Winter Park Library staff.
Photos credit: Danielle Pflanz
“It takes a Village to Raise a Child" - Hillary Clinton
Our continuous gratitude to the USk Orlando Sponsors for the constant support & kind contribution
