You are invited to Tamworth’s first multigenerational Sketch and Poem Crawl, Saturday, October 3

Download a Sketch and Poem Crawl poster HERE.

Arts Council of Tamworth and ACT! for KIDS invite you to participate in Tamworth’s first multigenerational Sketch and Poem Crawl on Saturday, October 3, from 1:00 – 4:30 PM, at the Tamworth Town House and all over town. Join us as we endeavor to see how much art and poetry one community can create in one afternoon. Bring your kids, bring your parents or grandparents, bring friends and neighbors, or come alone and meet some, for a fun afternoon of creative expression and playful work.

The Tamworth Sketch and Poem Crawl takes its inspiration from the SketchCrawl, the international drawing marathons that are the brainchild of Enrico Casarosa, an Italian artist living in San Francisco. Several years ago Casarosa decided to do a day of intense drawing around his city, to “record nonstop everything I could around me with my pencil and watercolors. A drawn journal filled with details ranging from all the coffee I drank to the different buses I took.” Casarosa realized it would be more fun and interesting to do the marathon with other artists, and soon after SketchCrawl became a worldwide event, with people all over taking part in drawing marathons and then sharing their results with their local SketchCrawl groups and in an online forum. “Giving yourself this kind of mandate for a full day changes the way you look around you” Casarosa says. “It makes you stop and see things just a tad longer, just a bit deeper.” Click here to see drawings from over 90 locations around the world.

Because we have so many writers as wells as artists in our community, ACT has expanded its Crawl to include writing as well as drawing. The rules are the same, however: “There are no rules: Anyone can participate, be it to draw [or write] for 20 minutes or the full day. Any level of ability is welcome from veteran artists to first time sketchers. Any age!”

First-timers who would like guidance can participate in a brief workshop (or two) with writer-artists Louise Wrobleski and/or Peggy Johnson. Wrobleski, a literacy consultant and one of the directors of the UNH Literacy Institute, is presenting the drawing part of the workshop “because I don’t have any artistic training but want to show that anyone can do this because it is fun.” Johnson, a poet and painter and more, is presenting the poetry workshop. Her poem “Monday Morning” and one of her paintings appear on the cover of ACT’s 2009-2010 program guide.

In addition, several communal art projects will be set up around town, to drop in on, and the Tamworth Congregational Church will be open for folks who want a silent place to work for some or all of the time. At 3:30 participants will gather at the Town House for refreshments and sharing of work. Samples of participants’ work will remain on display for the month of October at the Cook Memorial Library.

The Sketch and Poem Crawl also serves as the unofficial kickoff to the Cook Memorial Library’s Sketchbook Project, which is based on the national Sketchbook Project. Sketchbook Project participants will receive a 24-page 9” x 12” sketchbook to fill, using any media, during the month of October. Participants then have a couple of week to scan their work before turning the sketchbook in to the library, where it will become part of the permanent collection and be on display during December. For more info about the Sketchbook Project contact the library at 603-323-8510 or www.tamworthlibrary.org.

And see the work of more great sketchers around the world here at Urban Sketchers.

ACT! for KIDS is made possible by the newly founded Rey Foundation. Find out more about their work here.

Upcoming ACT! for KIDS programs include a Felt Animals & Creatures workshop in November and a Bread Dough Ornaments workshop in December. Click here for dates and times of all upcoming kids’ workshops.