Cissy Stamm
I met Cissy Stamm this summer on the replacement bus service from Seven Sisters to Walthamstow. She sat next to me and, pulling out a sheaf of torn Encyclopaedia Britannica pages from her bag, started drawing odd figures.
I was intrigued and we got talking. She told me that she had always wanted to draw but had never had the confidence to try. She had been discouraged at school by a traditional teacher who, in between tatting at the front of the class, occasionally barked praise at the efforts of her best friend, already exhibiting the talents of a promising artist, whilst making fun of Cissy’s self-conscious efforts.
When Cissy’s librarian mother, told her they were throwing out a set of encyclopaedias, Cissy had the idea that their pages, less daunting than a blank sketchbook page (and imbued with knowledge) could be used to practise drawing on.
Cissy hopes that by the time she reaches the entry for Zoroastrianism she will be an extremely skilled artist and her drawings will be worth thousands of pounds; some might say she’s a bit of a dreamer, but she’s not the only one!
I loved this idea, her optimism and the quirkiness of her drawings so decided to invite her to join the group of artists I work with.
Cissy is currently a waitress, working in a cocktail bar, drawing between shifts. She tells me she was born on a summer’s day and lives ‘in Dreamland’.
I was intrigued and we got talking. She told me that she had always wanted to draw but had never had the confidence to try. She had been discouraged at school by a traditional teacher who, in between tatting at the front of the class, occasionally barked praise at the efforts of her best friend, already exhibiting the talents of a promising artist, whilst making fun of Cissy’s self-conscious efforts.
When Cissy’s librarian mother, told her they were throwing out a set of encyclopaedias, Cissy had the idea that their pages, less daunting than a blank sketchbook page (and imbued with knowledge) could be used to practise drawing on.
Cissy hopes that by the time she reaches the entry for Zoroastrianism she will be an extremely skilled artist and her drawings will be worth thousands of pounds; some might say she’s a bit of a dreamer, but she’s not the only one!
I loved this idea, her optimism and the quirkiness of her drawings so decided to invite her to join the group of artists I work with.
Cissy is currently a waitress, working in a cocktail bar, drawing between shifts. She tells me she was born on a summer’s day and lives ‘in Dreamland’.