Observing a Stranger
The experience of Josephine after joining one of Sally’s live instagram sessions, and the work she produced from it.
Sally took us step-by-step through the process of observing a stranger across the road, beginning with the gait, then their clothing, and gradually moving closer to examine their features. With each observation, we began to build a character, adding detail and gradually breathing life into someone who had initially been little more than a distant figure.
I found myself thinking about an old man from a street. I had known many years ago he became the starting point for Mr. Fletcher.
The exercise made me realise how a character can emerge from the smallest observations: a particular way of walking, a mannerism, an item of clothing. From these fragments, the imagination takes over, inventing a life, a personality and a story.
Josephine, Writer