REVIEW: David Zinn Workshop

Photo courtesy of Viral Forest

The Ann Arbor District Library hosted local artist and University of Michigan alum David Zinn for his workshop—Drawing from Your Imagination with David Zinn—on January 5th in order to share his artistic techniques with those who attended. Although Zinn is well-known for his chalk and charcoal works on city streets and buildings, this artist used the Thursday afternoon to delve into the creative thought process of his artwork.

The workshop took place in the library’s multi-purpose room, located in the basement. I arrived five minutes past one and found myself in a room bustling with locals both young and old, all enthusiastic to hear from the artist. After they found their seats and chatter hummed down to faint whispers, Zinn introduced himself to us through light jokes and references. His words were accompanied by a slideshow of his latest street art pieces, which were certainly entertaining to look at.

One of the works that Zinn featured in his slideshow. Photo courtesy of Demilked

Zinn’s introduction eventually transitioned to demonstrations of his creative thought process. The artist first explained to his audience how blank canvases were intimidating to him, as ideas for art were limitless and therefore overwhelming. Having a canvas with a mark, however, gave Zinn a starting point for his ideas, even if that canvas happened to be a sidewalk with a line of grass. Zinn then elaborated this point by having attendees engage in drawing exercises where everyone would make a scribble, swap papers with someone else, and see what they could draw from that scribble. After everyone saw the products of this exercise, Zinn facilitated another drawing exercise where one person would draw on a folded sheet of paper and another person would complete the drawing on the other side. By viewing art that was created from canvases with a mark, everyone, including me, had a better understanding of where Zinn was coming from.

One of the drawings made from the second exercise of the workshop. The top half was drawn by me, while the bottom half was drawn by another attendee

The workshop ended ten minutes after two, with applause from attendees. I was content with what I learned from the workshop, and am considering on attending future workshops by Zinn in the Ann Arbor District Library.
If you happened to miss out on this opportunity with a local artist, be sure to check the AADL website to see when the next David Zinn workshop will be!

PREVIEW: David Zinn Workshop

Image result for david zinn

A local to Ann Arbor and University of Michigan alum, David Zinn will be holding a workshop at the Ann Arbor District Library this Thursday, the 5th of January. Zinn has been making his mark on the city with artwork through  murals, business logos, posters, and cartoons, but he is well known for the chalk art he makes on the streets and sidewalks of Ann Arbor, Manhattan, and other locations. In recent years, Zinn has recieved global attention from outlets such as Facebook and the Huffington Post. This local artist is now sharing some of his artistic experience through the workshop, Drawing from Your Imagination with David Zinn, where he will be demonstrating illustration techniques with color pencils. Take the opportunity to meet and learn from David Zinn this week, one of Ann Arbor’s local artists!

Details
When: Thursday, January 5th
Time: 1:00 -2:00PM
Location: Ann Arbor District Library, Multi-Purpose Room

Workshop is intended for kids grade six to adults, free admission.