At age twelve he was taught memory drawing at the Moseley Road School of Art.
[1] Here under his teacher Mr Wiley, who he refers to as 'Baggy' he learnt the method of not drawing from an object but instead to sit and visualize the subject for some time first before drawing it, which was a method he adhered to for the rest of his life.
He created etchings and engravings based on the subject matter of life in Birmingham.
This included images of industrial life, people at work and portraits.
An interest for Ball was, in particular, the image of the labourer prior to the invention of mechanization.