Tag Archives: Drawing

Ultima Thule – resistance is futile

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  During World Space Week I was invited to do my workshop Pluto WOW !!!  for a small group of children .   I put the workshop together in order to highlight the incredible images sent back by the New Horizons Spacecraft.  This year it was impossible to resist including Ultima Thule the new flyby target of New Horizons. Pluto WOW ! When I was a child there were nine planets in the solar system , that was my reality. Pluto being the farthest planet was almost a myth as there were no proper images of it for many years.  The Hubble Space Telescope wonderful  as it is only managed unclear nondescript photographs. When New Horizons left Earth to flyby Pluto it was still a proper member of the planet family. Along that journey the status of Pluto was altered forever, when it was demoted to being merely a dwarf planet.   New Horizons continued its pioneering journey to discover what Pluto … Continue reading →

Space Week – Apollo 11

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During Space Week 2018  Let’s Go To The Moon  offered  children the chance to draw some aspect of Apollo 11’s iconic mission.  Almost 400  took part in various venues across the country.  This therefore offered me an ideal opportunity to vary the subjects of the drawing challenges for the kids. Drawing tuition During all workshops I  offer a demonstration drawing . This is done in seconds to help the children focus on the important aspects of drawing.  Each child has about 20 minutes to draw therefore focus is vital. Teaching  them to observe the subject before starting is key.  Asking the kids if they agree with me about recognisable shapes within for example Buzz Aldrin’s helmet and visor. Inviting  them to look closely at where the shadows are and  where the light is. Requesting the children  to be mindful of curves , rectangles, cylinders, cones and key markings is a good way to go. I  encougage the children not to … Continue reading →

Lunar exploration with a needle

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  I wanted to explore the lunar surface using something different. My usual tools are soft pastels, conte sticks, my fingers, brushes and other instruments. My aim was to achieve greater detail while experimenting. Wooden toothpicks and cocktail sticks are useful,  however, they lose their points very quickly. Metal tools might give me a better more durable range of lunar sketching implements. On the hunt for teeny tiny metal devices, I came across a set of quilling tools. They are something to do with curling paper and card, anyway in the pagkage was a quilling needle. This is a very sharp long needle with a wooden handle, so yes it offered possibilities for use in lunar sketching. The area close to the terminator near the South West region of Mare Serenitiatis looked like it had a lot of linear features and subtle shading mixed in with some well defined craters like Manilius, Agrippa and Godin, ( Mare Tranquillitatis region) and … Continue reading →

Let’s Go To The Moon – Apollo 11 new drawing workshop

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Recently I was invited to do two workshops at St Columba’s College in Dublin.  I decided to launch my new workshop  for 2018/2019 entitled, Let’s Go To The Moon –  Apollo 11 . The college was founded in 1843. The architecture is a cross-pollination of Victorian , Georgian and 21st century on a 140 acre setting on the slopes of the Dublin mountains. The day I visited the grounds were acutely swaddled  in snow,adding to the rich atmosphere of the place and its history. The phrase deep and crisp and even echoed in my head. My workshops were part of the college Arts Week 2018. Attending were a mixture of primary school and first year second level pupils. The sessions took place in the beautiful new science building fully equipped for exploring the moon landing through drawing. The room has a lovely new 8 inch dob, which the science teacher will use to share the moon and other night time … Continue reading →

Watch Dancing Solar Proms

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Below is a slide show of the original nine drawings of the proms on the solar limb on July 19th 2007 Proms It is truly fascinating to watch prominences on the solar limb. One day back in July 2007 the sun came out after many weeks of dullness. The eastern limb was graced with many twisting dancing proms. In order to capture the movement and continuing changes in the structure of the proms I decided to do a sequence of drawings.  In general  I would draw what I see and then wait 15 or 20 minutes before drawing the same proms again.  A slight haze developed, therefore the sketches have a little more time in-between them. The morning proms seemed to leap into space, with the exuberance of dancers in a ballet. In the afternoon the action continued, this time akin to bubbles interlinking and changing shape . Arcs of energy holding on to the limb.   Some proms seemed to … Continue reading →

Rhapsody in Blue – Saturn / Moon Occultation

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On the evening of May 22nd 2007 the beautiful blue sky was host to a first quarter moon. The evening was to bring me one of the most visually rich observations in my drawing odyssey . When I set up my dob I really wasn’t expecting to  catch a glimpse of Saturn in a daylight sky. The software gave me an idea of where the planet was, I scanned the area in the hope of finding it. My task was to see Saturn before it went behind the unlit quarter of the moon. In my first look there it was, the white ringed planet, one billion miles away in space. Saturn was there in my eye, embedded softly in the azure sky moving swiftly toward  the invisible limb of the moon.  Nothing could have prepared me for that  revelation, it was a totally different experience to seeing Saturn in a dark night sky. My drawing paper was hastily endowed in blue … Continue reading →

Naked Eye Orion sketched from Ireland

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Recently I have spent some time in the west of Ireland . It’s been stormy , with icy rain and sideways on hailstones battering the landscape. The winds have been epic in this wild place where the ancient potato drills shout evidence of our ancestors ribs bursting the Earth , still hungry after all these years. Most evenings I have stepped outside to look up at the night sky while listening to the Atlantic roar its salty roar at stars too far away to listen. Occasionally the clarity of the sky has been impressive but short-lived. However on the evening of March 23rd on opening the door I was met with what I can only describe as a crisis sky. Every familiar constellation was buried in the galaxy. It is sometimes said that there are more stars in the night sky than grains of sand on all the worlds beaches, that sky was the epiphany of that statement. I sat … Continue reading →

Eratosthenes Drawing Drama plus an Experiment opportunity for schools all over the planet

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On that cold evening back in 2007 Eratosthenes looked powerful in its position emerging into the suns warm rays. Rupes Recta was also inviting and Plato almost called me again. Even drenched in sunlight Plato’s steel grey floor carried those unmistakable flame shaped shadows. Eratosthenes is a truly dramatic crater, a sweeping mountain chain whips away from it in a visual series, of broken, deep shadows. Montes Appeninus is cut and chopped first by Mons Wolf, and then by Mons Ampere. Next in line, Christian Huygens name is lent to Mons Huygens named in honour of the discoverer of Saturn’s largest moon Titan . This high mountain (164,000ft) is a billion miles away from those primal methane or ethane seas discovered by the Cassini Huygens mission on one of its routine flybys. Mons Bradley and Mons Hadley cradle the Apollo 15 lunar landing area from 1971. A mission that put wheels on the moon for the first time. This wonderfully … Continue reading →

When is a week not a week ? When its Science Week 2016 of course !

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Science Week 2016 was the 21st iteration of this infectious annual event . My involvement has been ongoing since 2007. A multitude of varied engagements are supported and promoted by Science Foundation Ireland. The aim is to stimulate interest in a broad range of sciences. Science Week makes the often complex world of science totally digestible to every person who embraces it. The programs are targeted towards school children and their teachers plus the public at large. Science Week touches almost everyone in this country via TV, Radio, Social media, publications and apps. Nationwide road shows, workshops and talks go directly to schools,libraries and other centres. The magic and wonder of many sciences shared with tremendous enthusiasm and smiles by a host of participants. This year my offerings were two drawing workshops Deadly Moons and Marvellous Mars plus a special Constellation session for local cub scouts. The workshops were attended by 800 children in 10 venues over 11 days in … Continue reading →

Space the final Frontier – World Space Week 2016

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This entry is part 1 of 12 in the series Exploring the Solar System

“Space: the final frontier. ” The opening line of the famous quote from Star Trek, the missions aim ” to boldly go where no man (or woman) has gone before. ” During Spaceweek 2016 I had the opportunity to take 360 children and their teachers on an exploration of moons in our solar system and the very topical planet Mars . Through listening and drawing they experienced a small awakening to the robotic images which are unveiling the beauty of other worlds, increasing our understanding with every single pixel. My workshop Deadly Moons now includes the stunning New Horizons image of Charon Pluto’s largest moon. The children loved the Star Wars names on its craters . They enjoyed linking Charon’s features to familiar books and movies. The workshop also showcases the incredable images of Saturn’s moons taken by the Cassini Spacecraft. In order to make my workshop Marvellous Mars extra interesting for the groups I made a model of Mars … Continue reading →

Deadly Moons

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“Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” ― Benjamin Franklin My workshop Deadly Moons has been presented on hundreds of occasions by myself to thousands of Irish school children. Its title has its roots in the expression ‘that’s deadly’ an Irish street speak way of saying something is ‘Amazing’. The bones of Deadly Moons are built from a range of robotic space images coupled with some of my lunar sketches. From time to time I update the presentation to include images from Cassini,(MRO) Mars Reconnaissance Obiter and of course New Horizons. I realised early on in my outreach efforts that most children and in fact most adults were totally unaware that other moons existed. In general people are not able to recognise moon phases or point out any features on our moon. Considering our moon is in the sky for the entirety of all our lives,this is another issue that needs … Continue reading →

Stars Wonderful Stars at Wexford Town Library Ireland

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This entry is part 10 of 12 in the series Exploring the Solar System

On a dull and drizzle splashed day in Wexford, children came to the local library to learn about our magnificent star. They were taking part in a new initiative run by Libraries Ireland , a national reading plan for children in the Summer months. The idea is that the children read at least six books and collect small encouraging rewards along the way culminating with an awards event at the end. ‘Summer Stars’ is the name of this year’s programme and of course my workshop, ‘Stars Wonderful Stars’ was a perfect fit. My workshops always begin with an explanation of what we will try to do and how we will go about our efforts . Stressing the importance of our star in everyday life is paramount in my initial presentation. Making sure the children understand the very special existence of our Earth in relation to the Sun is central. Pointing out the fact that we do not have to wear … Continue reading →