Drawing machines

My drawing machines evolved out of the process of removing control to free up the drawing process. It’s common to tape charcoal onto the end of a long stick in the style of Matisse to do this. I decided it would be interesting to mechanise this process and have created a series of drawing machines which are, to a greater or lesser degree, controllable. The first clockwork drawing machine was created for ‘The House of Fairy Tales’ section of Camp Bestival. They have evolved over the years but one key element makes them unlike other drawing machines ; they are a tool to be used rather than an autonomous machine. The latest machines use speed controllers and were specially designed to be accessible to children with profound physical and learning disabilities. They were created as part of a ‘Big Draw’ project with ‘Inspire’ libraries in Nottingham. I received the Inspire Creativity & Innovation Award for this project.