Fantastic fractals creative workshop

Sat 13 Sep 2025, 11am – 3pm
Free and all welcome
SPACE Ilford
Book here

Explore mathematical and natural science combined with art-making in this fun and engaging creative workshop with artist Mary Pullen Deacon. Come and experiment with drawing, 2D paper cut and tear, and 3D paper engineering techniques in the creation of your own unique artwork.

Delving into the world of fractals found in human anatomy and natural forms, and drawing on Mary’s creative practice and the current exhibition at SPACE Gallery by artist Andy Singleton, you will explore ways of representing fractal forms in drawing and paper. 

Each participant will take home a unique paper artwork to keep and treasure!

Mary Pullen Deacon is a multilingual award winning artist, linguist and educator, based in Essex, UK. Founder of Line and Language, her creative practice combines three lifelong passions: art, languages and education. 

Drawing on a lifelong interest in the content and depiction of global folk tales, Mary’s artistic practice involves combining experimental drawing and paper engineering techniques with traditional skills in bookbinding, printmaking and calligraphy, and the spoken and written word, to illustrate the omitted, or merely alluded to, stories of marginalised women in traditional folklore. 

Mary strives to reflect the everywoman aspect of folk tales, highlighting both links with contemporary life and the modern relevance of the historical content. Her current creative explorations include the development of methods to sensitively portray diversity of human skin tone using watercolour painting, hand embroidery and paper engineering.

In recent years, Mary has been awarded a residency with The Minories, Colchester (2022); a Firstsite Collectors’ Group bursary (2023); and Arts Council England Developing Your Creative Practice funding (2023). She is in the process of composing / writing an ACE Project Grant proposal.

Prior to launching her freelance creative career in 2009 (following graduation, as a mature student from University of the Arts London), Mary dedicated 15 years of her career to teaching Modern Foreign Languages and EFL in the UK and overseas. 

www.lineandlanguage.com

@lineandlanguage