Agile hands.

Last week I alluded to something that I'm working on that involves life drawing. I'm doing a ceramics directed study this semester, which is a course in which I create my own projects and goals under the supervision of a prof, who in my case is Scott Leaf. Last year, I'd attempted a ceramics directed study, but the topic I'd chosen to focus on lost its value to me and I was struggling with the amount of independence needed to accomplish things.

More than halfway through the semester, Scott had a very serious sit-down with me to talk about refocussing. He asked what I was passionate about, and the one thing I could think of was the drawing class I was taking. So we talked and I started thinking about how I could incorporate drawing into my ceramics studies. I decided to prepare clay and take it with me to life drawing.

These are only a few examples of what I came out with that night. From 30 second poses, to 5 minutes, to half an hour, I used up all the time creating as much as I could, and I had discovered something great. I loved it!

Three days later, the teachers went on strike. After a month of my pieces being wrapped up as tightly as they could be, locked away in the art building, we were finally back to classes. I ended up dropping the course for a refund so that I could retake it in the fall and have an entire semester to focus on this new topic, to get as much out of it as I could. 

Since life drawing hasn't started yet, I've started a study on hands. These are all life-sized, if not slightly larger, some modeled from my own hand, some from other people.

Weeee!

Drawing Life

I've never considered myself to be a very good drawer. Taking things out of my head and putting them onto paper has always been a struggle. But when I draw what I see, I feel much more in my element, and ever since starting drawing classes in university, I've absolutely fallen in love with drawing the human form.

Last year, my third year, I was in the final drawing class needed for my Visual Arts degree. I loved coming to class (yes, at 8:30 in the morning!) and setting up for a session with a model. I continually found myself staying later than the end of class to put finishing touches on my drawings, and swelling with a feeling of accomplishment.

These two in particular are ones I felt very proud of, and I'm hoping to be able to continue them as a series soon enough. The dark lines are ink drawn on with a stick or the back end of a paintbrush, coloured in with soft pastels.

It's this mixing of media that I've become increasingly compelled by, and though I won't have any more drawing classes in university, there is luckily a Wednesday night Life Drawing class that will start by the middle of October. It's there that I hope to continue experimenting.

I have many plans... but more to come on that soon enough. Stay tuned!