Brick Lane

Found this lady along Brick Lane waiting for people to exchange portrait drawings with. It's really interesting! We have to hide the sketchpad under the table and stare at each other across the table while drawing a portrait of each other. Not sure if you can see it well but on the left is my portrait of her, and vice versa.

What's strange is that we're complete strangers but drawing requires such intensive focusing on the details that it would've been really awkward if we weren't both preoccupied. Can you imagine staring at a stranger's lips for a prolonged period of time? Anyway we must have looked pretty funny to others since what they see is two people frowning at each other over an empty table. If I remember correctly, her idea was to use this project as a way of getting strangers to know each other. I hope it goes well!

Which reminds me of my lesson today! My animation lecturer, Katerina said people are born to draw yet as they grow older and gain oral and written skills that somehow eliminates drawing and for some people, it stops forever. Strange isn't it? How we ignore an inert ability and re-categorize it as a skill only certain groups of people have.

Did anyone read Children's Britannica when they were younger? I loved it! I read the entire encyclopedia set back to back several times over. One of the stories under 'D' was a poem about a girl who dreamt of all the dolls in the world but was awoken by her own doll which got jealous. Okay, it sounds freakishly like Freddie Kludger when I put it this way. But I deviate. Saw this ancient Roman doll at the British Museum and it's the exact same doll illustrated in the Britannica! It's not exactly surprising since the Britannica was published in London but the exciting bit is seeing something from your childhood come alive!