Bloomsday 2019 – Olives, Oysters and Oranges, Dublin Sketchers’ Ulysses sketchbook project 2019

Between April and June, Dublin Sketchers will sketch in some of the locations that appear in James Joyce’s Ulysses, which takes place on one day in Dublin in 1904. That day is celebrated every year as Bloomsday, 16^th June.

The Olives, Oysters and Oranges sketchbook project will take inspiration from Ulysses, and in particular the references to food in Ulysses. Our work will parallel the exhibition of the same name at the Olivier Cornet Gallery. The title for this project is taken from Flicka Small’s current research into the semiotics of food in Ulysses.

The sketchbooks will be a record of time and place, now and then. They will reveal Ulysses, one drawing at a time.

How do I integrate food into my sketching? How do I link the locations we sketch at and the text from Ulysses? These are a few questions you may have. The answer, of course is entirely up to you. You may be inspired by the text itself of course. The whole universe as we know it exists in Ulysses. You can search through Ulysses online. Or you may be inspired by the locations themselves.  Or let your imagination run wild. Whatever your approach, have fun. Just like Joyce had fun when writing Ulysses.

If you want to join the Olives, Oysters and Oranges sketchbook project, the dates for the sketch crawls are below. Extra dates will be added when other locations can be sorted out.

The sketchbooks will be exhibited upstairs at the Olivier Cornet Gallery on 15^th and 16^th of June, during the Bloomsday Festival. If you don’t want to exhibit your sketches, that is totally fine. Just come out with Dublin Sketchers as usual.

Olives, Oysters and Oranges Sketchbook Project Dates

Sunday 28th April noon – 4pm: Sketch crawl from O'Connell Street down Grafton Street, past Davy Byrne’s pub and onto the National Library. This route follows the course of the hungry Lestrygonians chapter of Ulysses and ends up in the National Library for a heated debate about Shakespeare in the Scylla and Charybdis episode

Sunday 5^th May 2pm – 4pm: location to be advised.

Full details of each sketch crawl will be available on www.dublinsketchers.com in the week leading up to the event.

Further resources available for inspiration:

This short video gives some low down on the chapter. You can also take inspiration from the Scylla and Charybdis chapter that takes place in the National Library. Here's a short video about it. Both are presented by John Singleton.

Full searchable text of Ulysses

Another good resource is the Joyce Project

Here's an 18 minute intro to the whole book.

And of course don't forget the classic movie:

Sunday 13th of May - Westland Row - sketching inspired by James Joyce's Ulysses

On Sunday 13th of May Dublin Sketchers are going to sketch around Westland Row. We will be inspired by James Joyce's epic book about Dublin - Ulysses.

Sketch by Pat

Note: this will not be a sketch crawl, but feel free to move around the area to explore the setting of the Lotus Eaters chapter!

If you want a bit of background to Ulysses and the Lotus Eaters chapter, meet on the steps of St Andrews Church at 2pm.

Spots of note:

Sweny's Chemist, at the top of Westland Row, where Bloom buys lemon soap. This location is available from 1 to 3pm. There is a reading in German at 2pm, but it's generally not too busy. The Italian reading at 3 is often busy so they would like us to make room for the Italian visitors by then.

St Andrews Church, referred to as All Hallows (just in case you're searching through the chapter). I have checked with one of the priests, and they are happy for us to sketch inside the church, but note that there is a mass from 2 to 3, so try to go in earlier or later. Preferably earlier as the priest told me that some of the other priests close the church after the mass on Sundays! So 1 to 2pm, preferably.

Note that Bloom enters the church "by the rere", which is on Cumberland Street South, an area that looks worth exploring!

Post Office near Pearse Station, where Bloom collects a letter from a lady friend. Unfortunately this no longer exists, but the Centra has a post office sign, so you could sketch in the café there, particularly if the weather is wet.

Pearse Station: there are some references to the trains passing by and to the station itself.

4pm meet for a drink in Kennedy's Pub at the top of Westland Row

If you want to, you can draw on the theme of the Lotus Eaters chapter from James Joyce's Ulysses. Short video below, presented by Jessica Peel-Yates.

If you're joining in the Ulysses sketch book project, you might want to get a dedicated sketch book for it. Or work on A4 or A3 loose leaf pages. 

If it's your first time out .... bring your own paper and pens/pencils, turn up, say hello to anyone who looks like a sketcher and get stuck in! You'll meet everyone at 4pm over a drink in Kennedy's Pub at the top of Westland Row.  

Ulysses sketchbook project 2018

Between February and June, Dublin Sketchers will get down and dirty with James Joyce. We’ll sketch in some of the places that appear in his big book Ulysses – a 700 page crazy epic that takes place on one day in Dublin in 1904. That day is celebrated every year as Bloomsday, 16^th June.  Here's an 18 minute intro to the whole book.

The Drawing on Joyce sketchbook project will take inspiration from Ulysses – the stories, the characters, the rumour and humour. We’ll sketch pubs, chemists and cafés. Parks, martello towers and cemeteries. The sketchbooks will be a record of time and place, now and then. They will reveal Ulysses, one drawing at a time.

The sketch books will be exhibited during the Bloomsday Festival. If you don’t want to exhibit your sketches, that is totally fine. Just come out with Dublin Sketchers as usual.

You can follow the development of the project on the website, and Twitter @DublinSketchers and @DrawingonJoyce.

If you can’t join the sketch crawls in Dublin, then tweet your related sketch during the week of the sketch out. Next project date will be Sunday 10th June.