Children's Drawing Class

Ash Lab is running a children's drawing class at Silvan House on Saturday 24 October, for ages 5 to 15. It's a small-group session, capped at eight guests, so it's more of a workshop than a crowded classroom. The class is run by working artists rather than teachers, and it follows the way artists learn to see: by looking hard at something real and drawing it.

Over the course of the sessions, the group works through a range of subjects. There's drawing from observation, animals and the natural world, characters and storytelling, perspective and composition, and light, shadow and texture. They use pencil, coloured pencil and mixed media, so it's not just one way of working. Every child gets individual feedback in each session and takes their finished work home, building a folder that shows their progression over a term. For the older students, the class feeds directly into the studio's Foundation and portfolio preparation work, and several have gone on to art school.

Ash Lab is a women-owned creative studio here in Edinburgh that brings together traditional craftsmanship and contemporary practice. They also donate 50p from every booking to Mental Health UK. All materials are provided, though attendees can bring an A4 or A3 sketchbook and a pencil if they have them.

The class starts at 10:00 at Silvan House, 231 Corstorphine Rd, Corstorphine, Edinburgh, EH12 7AT, and costs £35 per guest.