Lee Hadwin is a talented artist. He has drawn sketches of horses, celebrities, and beautiful landscapes. He only draws in black and white. Oh, and there is one other thing. Hadwin only draws in his sleep.
Ever since he was about four years old, he has been waking up to discover detailed drawings beside his bed. But he doesn’t remember ever having done the drawings. When he is awake, Hadwin says he can’t draw at all. In fact, he has no interest in art. During the day, he works as a nurse.
When he was young, Hadwin, who now lives in London, England, used to cover his walls and tables with his sketches. In his teens, the drawings became more detailed and intricate.
He started leaving charcoal, paper and pencil crayons out for himself. While he is asleep, he gets up out of bed and sketches, without ever waking up. Even though there are paints and coloured pencils for him to use, he never works in colour—only black and white.
Sometimes he draws twice a week; other times he will go three or four months without drawing. Hadwin, 33, says if he has had some alcohol to drink the night before, he is more likely to draw in his sleep.
Once, Hadwin woke up in the morning to find that he had cut up a pair of his favourite jeans in the night and incorporated it into a piece of artwork.
Researchers at the Edinburgh Sleep Centre are going to be doing some research on Hadwin to understand how and why he can sleep-draw. He will also be the subject of an upcoming documentary film.
Other people have been known to sleepwalk, to eat in their sleep or even drive a car in their sleep. The sleep researchers say Hadwin’s sleep-drawing condition is unique. One researcher speculated that it could be a rare form of epilepsy.
Hadwin is planning to exhibit some of his artwork (which has raised thousands of pounds for charity) at galleries in London and in Paris. He says his biggest fear is that he will suddenly stop drawing in his sleep. He says that every time he wakes up and sees some new art by his bedside he breathes a sigh of relief.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
Most people don’t get out of bed when they sleep, let alone create art. What do you think would be the strangest thing someone could do while sleeping? What would that person’s life be like?
Reading Prompt
Do you know someone who does something unique in their sleep? What do they do? Do they know about it? Is it a problem?
Primary & Junior
Extend understanding of texts by connecting the ideas in them to their own
knowledge and experience, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Intermediate
Extend understanding of texts, including increasingly complex or difficult texts, by connecting the ideas in them to their own knowledge, experience, and
insights, to other familiar texts, and to the world around them (OME, Reading: 1.6).
Grammar Feature: Third Person Pronouns
A personal pronoun is a word that is used to describe a person or thing without using their specific name. For example, personal pronouns about a person or thing being spoken about (third-person pronouns) include: he, she, it, his, her, hers, its, him, her, they, them, their, and theirs.
Underline all of the third-person pronouns in today’s story.
