New Drawing
By
Jera May
2026
New Drawing series explores sensory and intuitive drawing beyond looking.
The lines are made with my eyes closed using handmade drawing tools creating a series of automatic or intuitive marks. Challenging traditional notions of mastery and skill by proposing an alternative perception and creative experience. In contrast the geometric shapes are formed using templates and are a more intentional part of the process. The drawings are tessellated after the initial lines are drawn, creating further opportunities for rearrangement, exploration and uncertainty.
As someone with dyspraxia and dyslexic, it’s been challenging for me to think about or use drawing as a tool to represent the visual world, even though I’ve always drawn. When I was very young—like most of us—I drew as a raw, creative act. Later, I used it as an impulsive strategy to help me quieten my highly active mind, and stay engaged with what was happening around me.
I wonder how might we redefine creativity if we let go of the need to ‘see’ or represent in the traditional sense and understood it more as an intuitive act?
