Florence Hutchings: Drawing with Scissors

This workshop invites participants to explore still life through colour, collage, and playful mark-making, with a particular focus on working with found and hand-painted paper. Rooted in the idea of “drawing with scissors,” the session encourages a fresh way of looking at and drawing from life, moving beyond pencil and paper into a more tactile, intuitive process.

The workshop

Participants will work directly from the still life and natural forms within the theme of flowers. Rather than aiming for a polished or fixed outcome, the emphasis is on deep engagement with the process. Through cutting, arranging, and re-arranging, participants will experience how drawing with scissors sharpens observation and encourages a slower, more attentive way of seeing. Play is central to this approach, allowing curiosity and experimentation to guide decision-making.

Influences

The workshop is informed by key artistic influences, including the COBRA group, whose ideology of serious play underpins this way of working, as well as Henri Matisse’s cut-outs and Hans Arp’s embrace of chance and accidental composition. Ideas of trial and error, intuition, and letting materials lead will be actively encouraged throughout the session.

Above all, this workshop is designed to be an enjoyable and freeing experience. Fun is treated not as a distraction from artistic seriousness, but as an essential and meaningful part of making. Participants will leave with a finished piece, as well as a renewed understanding of how play, process, and close observation can open up new ways of drawing and making.