life drawings

I took an introduction life drawing course in college. Since it was an introductory class, I figured we would be drawing things like bowls of fruit and skulls in interesting lighting, which we did. For a while. And then two weeks into the course, there was Sarah, naked and striking contortionist poses with a push broom. As most people get very uncomfortable at the thought of being in the same room as a naked person they did not intend to see naked, it could be much worse. The professor constantly complained about how the medical school would no longer allow us on the premises to sketch the cadavers.

The whole class went by surprisingly in a blur as there are usually only 3 sessions to sketch a person and everyone is so focused on capturing the way the light travels around a curved elbow that it is very easy to forget to be uncomfortable about the naked person you are staring at. But I can remember a few of our models. There was a lady who has been an art model for some time now and likes to recite her own poetry about watching her body change. There was the woman who noticed the Wizard of Oz lunchbox I used to carry my art supplies and would talk to me about listening to The Dark Side of the Moon over the soundtrack. There was an old man, covered in tattoos and piercings who would bring in swords for his poses. Then there was my favorite, Polly, who I first saw walking extremely slowly with a rolling backpack to the art room. When she finally got in, she unzipped the backpack and pulled out a droopy dog that would sit at her feet during sessions and eat yams. Then there was my least favorite, a middle aged man who, when noticing a classmate using her pencil to see if she had her measurements right, stared right at her and said, "No, you're not off. It really IS that big". To this, my classmate dropped her pencil and immediately left the room.

Anyway, enjoy art and naked people!

much love,
hedgie