We went on a school trip to Oban in November. We were 24 Illustration students, 3 Artists in Residence, and 1 Studio Assistant. It was a research trip: we were looking for things to draw!
Oban is a seaside town on the West coast of Scotland. Most people travelled up by train. We got there about 4 o’clock Thursday. We checked into the Youth Hostel and all sat down together to eat a big bowl of pasta. We talked a bit about how we were going to work the next day: Astrid gave us all Evidence Bags so that we would collect artefacts to inform our drawings. Then we went out into the seaside storm and ran to the pub for shelter. In the pub we played typical Illustration games like Exquisite Corpse. And we drew the inside of the pub. There was no mistaking us: we were art students abroad.
On Friday we started the real investigation. We walked around Oban looking for things. Before dinner we got together and spread all our findings out like a strange jumble. There were leaves, flowers, litter, and shells. Some people had bought plastic toys or curiosities from charity shops. There was an abandoned wig and a whole lobster. It was lots of material to draw! 
On Saturday, people ventured a bit further afield: some to the nearby islands, and some to the Sealife Centre. Again we met up in the evening and shared our day’s drawing. People had started to think about what it was they wanted to present as a document of their trip.
Our drawings and artefacts are going to be exhibited in Sculpture Court in the first week of December.
Emily Hair’s words. Pictures by Kasia Matyjaszek and Alice Spicer
