Take this portal to return to childhood joy.

Be like Mr Benn entering the changing room and emerging in a whole new world.

What links my Dress Up and Draw Workshops to Childhood Joy? Well, please read on before you Google “Mr Benn”

As is the intention of most workshops, my workshops bring people together.

Dress Up and Draw is finding a niche of its own.  These workshops are proving very popular for mother-daughter bonding. They would also work well for hen parties, groups of fashion students, art students or just a bunch of friends who’d like to try something different. I’ve had lots of compliments from menopausal women who find Dress Up and Draw such a fun and safe way to release emotions. Of course, men of all types are encouraged too- menopausal or not.

Dress Up and Draw is neurodivergent-friendly in terms of pace and organisation. It incorporates music, dancing, learning, dressing-up, refining techniques, socialising and/or focusing on your own. Materials, clothes, drinks and snacks are included.

The main idea behind my workshops is to have fun. It doesn’t matter if you think you can’t draw, or if you don’t want to dress up. If your idea of fun is to sit quietly drawing with nobody forcing you to perform, then that is absolutely welcomed too (and if you change your mind later then that is also fine).

Memorise this please- The main idea is to have fun!

Dress Up and Draw is built upon the idea of revisiting the things that you liked to do in childhood that you don’t do anymore. It’s about thinking about the things you enjoyed as a child - but then you stopped doing them. The things that used to make you happy but now you can’t remember the last time you did them.

Adulthood has a funny way of replacing childhood memories with grown-up obligations. As if responsibility and fun cannot coexist.

I’ve thought a lot about this lately. I know a lot of people who are changing career later in life. It’s time to reevaluate what life is all about. Time to rummage around in the old attic of your mind and drag out the trunk with all the childhood fantasies in it.

Guess what? Things that made you smile as a child will likely still make you smile today.

Whether your career has stayed true to your childhood ambitions and you succeeded in growing up to become an astronaut, or whether your old tin-foil spacesuit has been in the loft since you became an accountant- what made you happy then is still there in your brain, ready to be resurrected!

Dressing up is a big part of childhood, and it’s something that never leaves you- it just becomes more tailored to the role you now play.

I see loads of children today wearing sequinned skirts or top hats and fairy wings, like they don’t need an excuse. It doesn’t even have to be World Book Day! Most adults probably wouldn’t want to wear wings out in the street- but at Dress Up and Draw you can!

Dress Up and Draw is about rekindling lost joys. The freedom of not caring what you wear, or what other people think, and being able to express yourself freely. It’s proper Dopamine Dressing.

At Dress Up and Draw, you can be yourself or dress up as someone else. I provide the clothes (net skirts, sequinned shirts, fake fur collars, fake snakeskin trousers, velvet jackets, sunglasses etc) and all the drawing materials.

The idea behind the drawing is to create something memorable, that challenges you but also makes you feel proud.

A lot of people at my workshops mention that they haven’t created any art since they were at school. Many people have taken Art for GCSE or even A’Level but haven’t created any art since. Some participants are still students (lucky things!)

The mental health benefits of artistic pursuits are so obvious.  Everyone leaves with a smile on their face. Art makes people feel lighter. It helps people to open their feelings and interact with strangers. It’s a confidence boost.

During my sessions I offer prompts and advice on how to refine work, because I really want people to feel proud of what they’ve done. So many people say they will frame their work afterwards, it is so lovely to hear. And I know that they will feel good in future, every time they see that piece of their own artwork hanging in the hall or taped to the fridge.

 There ‘s something special about creating your own artwork. All art has the power to lift your mood. And when you see any piece of art, even just a print or a postcard that you’ve bought, it lifts your mood- but if you’ve created that piece of work yourself, it lifts your mood even higher. It brings back all the happy memories associated with it.

Perhaps you feel nervous attending a workshop? Not sure what to expect? Hesitant at first? That’s totally normal - but when you see the work that you are capable of, the evidence right in front of you, it’s a reminder of how good you are. That you are capable of great things- and this helps to chip away at self-doubt.

I begin my art workshops with an explanation as to how I came to start them. I show pictures of colourful people, all dressed up, and indicate the clothes that I have brought- displayed upon a rail.

I talk about my own influences, Zandra Rhodes, Anna Sui, Stylecrone, Silly Pink Shoes, and the community that make up the London Colour Walk at Spitalfields market every month.

I briefly mention physical proportions, and how in traditional art lessons, we are taught that the human body is divided up into the equivalent of 8 heads- and this is the basis upon which anatomical drawing is taught.

I’m a firm believer in mastering the basics before you can express your own style- however, in a two-hour workshop there isn’t time. Dress Up and Draw moves at pace.

I give participants a simple task to copy a diagram onto template, and then a slightly more complex task to draw a model, posing, onto the same template. This gives everyone an idea of how the human body is put together and how it can be stretched and exaggerated into a fashion illustration. Everyone gets to have a quick practice with pencils, fine-liners, marker pens and any other materials I might have brought- or the venue has provided.

Then it’s time for the really fun part- volunteering to be the first models and getting to choose the clothes! Depending on the size of the group will depend on how many models there are. The “models” have a few moments to festoon themselves with elaborate clothes, scarves, sunglasses, hats, fascinators etc.

In the meantime, the “artists” can top up their drinks, have a chat, practice honing their skills…

…until the models come to parade before us in all their finery! They are twirling, sashaying and laughing their heads off.

I usually have the seating arrangements in two rows, where possible, so that the models can strut in full view of the artists. Models begin with maximum strutting, the disco playlist is really helpful here! The artists can get a 360 view of everyone and their garments and it helps them to decide who to draw.

After a good bit of struttage, the models are then requested to pose for 5 minutes, like dressed-up musical statues, so that the artists can get down the outlines. Then follows another few minutes where the models are allowed to move again and the artists work on the colours and details.

Now we swap- more models volunteer to pose, and the originals return the clothes to the racks and sit down to become the artists. At this point many people who perhaps thought they would rather eat their own legs than dress up and model in front of strangers, change their minds and become willing model participants.

The change in activities keeps the workshop fresh and helps people to stay motivated. It’s heartwarming to see how the group begins to bond, how people begin to open and share stories and laugh and smile with each other.

There is usually time for 2-3 dressing up sessions as well as a break halfway through.

I always allocate time at the end for everyone to sit down and finish their drawings. This is my time to go around and suggest how work can be refined- usually by simply adding a background colour!

Just before time’s up, we have a group photograph and everyone gets a chance to see what the others have drawn. This is a really special part of the workshop, with lots of compliments flowing and feel-good hormones abound!

Everyone is encouraged to take their drawings home and most are very proud and even amazed at their own work.

What next for Dress Up and Draw?

I would like to find a regular base, so that I can guarantee a session every month. I’d also like to create a continuation of “lessons” or courses; such as specialising in drawing jewellery or shoes. It would be great for people to attend regularly and eventually have an exhibition or create personal portfolios.

I am also working on taking Dress Up and Draw online, so watch this space to see how you could participate in that way.

I hope you have enjoyed this insight in my workshops, please do get in touch if you have any questions, thoughts or suggestions.

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