Drawing Class

Last night I was too tired to write. In fact, I was in bed around 10-ish which for me, these days is early.

So, I went to the drawing class and took  the quiz on elements of design. I was amused by the fact that she gave us paper–little sheets of pale brown newsprint–to write our answers on. When I was teaching, I used to do the same thing also to thwart those seventh graders who came to class with the answers written out already! I made no mistakes at all. Right before they were due to be handed in, I remembered the many times I had exhorted my students to read it over one more time before handing it in. I did, and I found a vital word I had omitted!

We then all put up our homework drawing on the wall and had a group critique. This wasn’t as scary as it seems because she was very explicit about what we could and could not say. Each of us took a turn in explaining what our drawings were and then the rest of the class commented. We eventually got a grade but it was given to us quietly later in class with her comments written on the back. I got an A minus. I deserved the minus since I knew the drawings were supposed to be line only and I shaded!  There were two people who didn’t have their homework. They were told that they could hand it in next time but the grade would be dropped a level so the best they could hope for would be a B–which of course is much better than the zreo they would get if they didn’t have it next time.

Next she gave us a handout on the principles of design {which are quite different from the elements of design } and we saw a very helpful movie. After that she told us that there would be a quiz on the principles of design on Tuesday. It will be the same format as the first one we took and since she underlines the key words she will be looking for, it is just a matter of memorization. {Incidentally, there were two people in this class of twelve who admitted that they hadn’t studied.} One interesting thing that happened to me after seeing the movie was that I realized that my focus, the part of the picture that one’s eye is being lead towards, is always in the center and that the sketches that I had found the most interesting in the homework critique were those where the focus was not in the center.

Next  she discussed cylindrical objects and ellipses {squashed circles or ovals} and we practiced doing these in our sketch books using trasparent plastic cups as our model. We had to do one with looking straight down into the cup from above, and two with ellipses–one with  wide ellipses  and one with narrow ellipses. After that we played around a bit on a piece of scrap paper experimenting with charcoal.

And then finally we moved on to our class assignment. She put a model’s throne in the center and on it she put a flowerpot with very luxuriant leaves, a roll of paper towels standing on end, an old metal jug lying on its side and a couple of mostly cylindrical vases, one on its side and one upright. She told us that we didn’t have to include all of them but she wanted to see us tackle at least three. My picture had the pot with the plant, the roll of paper towels and the metal jug. She then turned off the top lights and turned on a light that came from my right so that we would have some variation in light and shade.

I was quite pleased with what I did {even though the focus was in the center AGAIN! }  I was telling Fred last night that there comes a point where I stop being all uptight about what I am doing and just get in there and relax and do it. I remember the moment last night when I turned the charcoal on its side and did a big, sweeping stroke to show the dark side of the pot and it appeared exactly as I had planned. That is a very exhilarating feeling and also addictive!  The drawings were sprayed with "cheap hairspray" which, she told us, works just as well as the expensive fixatives. {Actually, I already knew this and have some cheap hairspray that Fred  kindly got from the store for me even though he did comment that real men don’t buy cheap hairspray!  } She collected the drawings at the end of the class and we will get them back at the next meeting with a grade.  Before the next class I have to set up my own still life with cylindrical objects {at least three} and draw them in charcoal or in pencil. I wrote myself a note to NOT put the focus in the center!

I got home about 5:45 and that gave me a little time to eat before the folk dancing class. Because it was raining pretty hard but mostly because I was tired, I opted to drive up to the school instead of my usual walking. The dancing was, as usual, a lot of fun, even though I was wiped out at the end.

Until later..