Between October 2018 and July 2019 I made a quiet (not always so quiet) space in a local primary school in Cambridge UK my studio. It was an open space where I could work once a week and children could come and see me, talk to me, watch as work progressed, sit with me, draw with me or draw alongside me. The year focused me on returning to drawing as a practice. I had no idea where it would go.
The work that I made fluctuated between the desire to connect the children to the river that runs beside us, the conversations we had and the events that took place in the world, especially in my home country that cut through and across other discourse.
The work was shown in an open kitchen/gallery at our home in Cambridge Uk before it went to Aotearoa New Zealand to be shown at Whitespace Gallery in Auckland. I gave a floor talk there and discussed the project with friends and colleagues throughout the country, sharing experiences and discussing the impact of such a project in schools and future plans.

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Work in progress during an open studio day at school River Drawings VI mixed media on paper 120 x 90 cm approx. Impermanence IV Graphite on Paper 90 x 120 cm approx. Impermanence II Graphite on paper 90 x 120cm approx. Impermanence III Graphite on paper 90 x 120cm approx. Impermanence I Laying Flowers. Graphite, pen and watercolour on paper 90 x 120cm approx. Impermanence V Graphite and Pen on Paper 140 x 90cm approx. Fig.I Dust to Dust Studies (Put a Curse on my Enemy) Pencil and watercolour on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig.II Dust to Dust Studies (Put a Curse on my Enemy) Pencil and watercolour on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig.III Dust to Dust Studies (Put a Curse on my Enemy) Pencil and watercolour on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig.IV Dust to Dust Studies (Put a Curse on my Enemy) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig.V Dust to Dust Studies (Put a Curse on my Enemy) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. River Drawings IV Pencil and watercolour on paper 120 x 90 cm approx. River Drawings III Emma Louise Pratt 2019 Mixed media on paper 40 x 80 cm approx. River Drawings I Mixed media on paper 40 x 80 cm approx. Emma Louise Pratt River Drawings 2019 reflections on the day. River Drawings II Mixed media on paper 80 x 40 cm approx. River Drawings V Mixed media on paper 120 x 90 cm approx. River Drawings V detail mixed media on paper 2019 River Drawings V Pencil and watercolour on paper 120 x 90cm approx Fig. VI Dust to Dust Studies (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig. VII Dust to Dust Studies (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig. VIII Dust to Dust Studies (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig. IX Dust to Dust Series (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig. X Dust to Dust Studies (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Fig. XI Dust to Dust Studies (Blue) Mixed media on paper 21 x 30 cm approx. Drawing as a Pathway for Seeing: Workshop with teachers. IATEFL Conference, Liverpool, 2019