Recommended Age: All Ages (Children under 10 should try this activity with an adult)

Though drawing is typically viewed as a springboard to further artistic production, this activity will explore drawing as a fundamental practice in its own right. I like drawing because it is both intuitive and forgiving. You can accidentally spill ink over a piece, but still integrate it, work with it and end up with something beautiful. Using the demonstrations below to guide you, explore different techniques and materials to see how they can all work together. You can fly solo or do this as a group activity, with participants contributing to and building on each other’s work to open up communication and response.

About the Artist:

Dalia Hassan is a Cairo-born, Toronto-based visual artist. She received her Bachelor of Visual Arts from the American University in Cairo in 2007 and has spent the majority of her career working as an independent artist in Egypt. Hassan’s earlier work explored themes relating to city life, reflecting the abnormalities of her urban environment in a fantasized setting, often with gallows humor. Hassan’s recent practice, however, has turned toward abstraction, focusing on the mind and the relationship between consciousness and existence. Her work has been exhibited in Cairo and Toronto.

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