Art department offers Saturday training to all students

September 29th, 2011 | By Elise Gallant gallante@grinnell.edu | Section: Arts

It was Salvador Dali who said, “Drawing is the honesty of the art. There is no possibility of cheating. It is either good or bad.” Henri Matisse believed, “Drawing is like making an expressive gesture with the advantage of permanence.” For those among us who wish to improve their craft of drawing, the Grinnell Drawing Club offers just such a chance.

Every Saturday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Drawing Club meets in Bucksbaum 223 to practice figure drawing in an open and welcoming environment. Allison Jamieson-Lucy ’12, who currently runs the Drawing Club, wants to make all participants feel comfortable.

“Anyone can come, regardless of drawing experience,” Jamieson-Lucy said.

The Drawing Club provides charcoal and newsprint paper for all attendees and has a full schedule of models throughout the semester.

“Figure drawing is a really important and difficult part of an artist’s skill-set, and Drawing Club’s goal is to make it available to art students here,” Jamieson-Lucy said.
The Drawing Club was started last semester by Dani Radoshevich ’12.

“[I wanted] to provide students with access to figure drawing sessions throughout the year,” Radoshevich said. “For Art majors and non-majors alike, it’s a really good chance to practice.”

This semester, the Drawing Club has received funding from the college’s Art department, which has given the program more structure. Dedicated models have already been hired for this semester and anyone interested in modeling in the future should contact Jamieson-Lucy.

Models are a central part of figure drawing and part of why the group benefits from departmental support.

“It is a tricky thing to practice on your own, since live models are difficult to come by,” Jamieson-Lucy said.

Each session starts with short warm up poses usually lasting a minute and then continues with longer five- to ten-minute poses. At the end of each session some time is set aside to share individual’s work with the group and talk about art, but these discussions often come up in between exercises as well.

“People can come draw for as much or as little as they like,” Jamieson-Lucy said. The group is also happy to take suggestions for exercises.

Feel free to stop by Drawing Club whether you’re looking to improve your craft or just looking for a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon. You may find that you see the world differently, as according to the social-activist artist, Keith Haring, “Drawing is still basically the same as it has been since prehistoric times. It brings together man and the world. It lives through magic.”