A room, a table, a pencil.
Drawing Circles opened in the winter of 2019, in a second-floor room above a bicycle shop. Six years on, the room has not changed: one long table, a bank of north-facing windows, a shelf of brown paper.
The school runs on a simple idea: most people can learn to draw if someone shows them how, and if the room is quiet enough to hear the pencil. We teach in small groups — never more than sixteen — with teachers who draw for a living and happen to teach on the side.
We are not a degree programme. We do not grade. We have no gallery, no shop, no shows. What we have is a schedule, and six teachers, and a kettle.
The room
44 Linden Lane, second floor. Above the bicycle shop. A bell by the door; we open at quarter to the hour.
The year
Three terms — Spring, Summer, Autumn — plus weekend workshops and open life sessions year-round. Closed for two weeks in August.
The table
Long, scarred, approximately four metres. Seats sixteen, comfortably twelve. Made by a friend of the founder in 2019.
- Do I need to bring materials?
- No. A full kit — paper, graphite, charcoal, a board — is laid out at every seat. Bring your own if you prefer.
- What if I’ve never drawn before?
- Most of our students haven’t. Every class is scaffolded for complete beginners, with room for returning students to go further.
- Can I cancel?
- Full refund up to 72 hours before. After that, we hold a credit toward a future class.
- Where is the studio?
- Second floor, 44 Linden Lane. There is a bell. We open the door at quarter-to.