Music and Drawing: Nichola Harding Hope and Enfys-Haf

Nichola Harding-Hope: Is an artist who draws from live performances and has worked with the Welsh National Opera since 2005 producing works that capture the moment and energy of the moving characters on stage. (http://www.axisweb.org/p/nicholahope)

Here is her 'Parental Conversation' Proposal: At the age of 3.5 years, Enfys-Haf is a very sociable child who enjoys conversation, music and drawing with mummy. She enjoys scribbling, colouring in and forming shapes. Although she does not write actual letters, she understands that writing is made up of lines, curves and repeated patterns. The components of letters are quite evident in her drawings. For Enfys-Haf, drawing is a very social interaction. When drawing together we engage in story telling, recalling memories, trade materials and talk about the pictures we are making. The starting point of the drawing is often initiated with "What shall we draw today" or "let's draw about ...." My daughter will often direct the drawing asking me to draw a particular subject matter and then contribute her own mark making. This makes for a very fluid, fast paced and spontaneous drawing activity. As she draws Enfys-Haf names her imaginative mark making and understands that drawing can be a way to communicate ideas and convey meaning. When creating our book, I will encourage my daughter to enjoy the process of drawing and will not expect a particular outcome. I want her to explore materials and will talk to her about concepts of drawing such as thick, thin, wide, narrow, dark, light, edge, shape, or contour. I will allow her imagination to lead decisions about colour, composition and content and introduce her to new materials and techniques. I would also like to see how her drawings respond to music and will introduce this new idea during the course of the project.