Art Classes under Duress

Whatever electricity problems I was having at home were not an issue up on Ocean Grove.  But they did get all the heat and humidity.  Nichole found the basement to be so bad that she moved some Monday activities out of there and to some other locations. Not surprisingly, I got the same deal.  On Tuesday I was all ready for my drawing class, the topic of the day being perspective.  I'm not big on using perspective systems- the need to squeeze three dimensions onto 2 dimensions of paper can create some extreme distortions.  Mathematical and regular, but distortions still, which I why I don't use them.  I teach my students about them as part of being thorough, then tell them not to use them and show them how to draw what they see.   I could substitute cereal and cracker boxes for the slide carousel boxes I used to use at the community college, and I had paint cans for the ellipses, but first I had to find out if we had electricity there.  At the colleges, no power means no classes.  A phone call confirmed they were open. A lot of traffic lights on the way up were not functioning, but the intersections were all fixed to be open in my direction, so not a problem.

Nichole offered a chance to move to an air conditioned room on another floor and I chose the kitchen room on the 1st, officially room #3.  Has a large dining table in the middle and plenty or room around it.  I figured the big table could hold he still life and I could grab from the stack of folding tables to create work areas for my students.  Only three students showed up.   This could have been a result of the electricity problems in the region/state.  Or because in summer people sometime lose track of days.  One of my students who did show up was a little late because she almost forgot, and she's one who really likes the class.

Anyway, we started with all boxes, and after a short break I added some cans we could have some fun  with ellipses.  No eye levels, no vanishing points- just draw what you see, measure with what is up there, take advantage of negative spaces.  Pay attention to the lessons of perspective drawing, but don't let it tell you what to do.  As can be seen above, it seems to work.  Next time is the last meeting of the initial class, a complex line still life.  The group did prefer this other room, mostly because the big windows let in more light.  Don't know if we can get it next week.  Nichole really wants to develop the basement as a work space, though this week she had to admit it can be dreadful down there in the summer.

Naturally I got there early today.  First of all, Nichole had mentioned she might be able to get me my check for the July classes and that would be useful.   Second, we had plenty of information to exchange.  Nothing is confirmed yet for August classes, but several people have indicated online interest in both classes, and that's a good sign.  And we talked a little about ideas for October and forward. Third, I wanted to reserve that same room for today.  Humidity outside was not as bad as some days, but inside it was still damp, and I got the good room set.  Now I just had several hours to kill, but my Studio is there so I always have something to do.

For example, today more repairs to the narwhal block.  I mixed up a brown ink and applied to to the mud on the ground and the creature's eye.  And I mixed up more wood filler and applied a larger amount.  If it shrinks as it dries this time (and I expect it will) I'll sand it smooth with the block surface and then do the final inking.

Eventually I got ready for woodcut class.  The room didn't need any special set up, and all the materials were either in my car or in my Studio, so it was just a matter of carrying them to the first floor.  We never heard from the student who missed the 2nd class, and now the 3rd, but he paid for the class.  Meanwhile, my other student, who really likes the class and process, was there to continue work on her block. Nichole had asked me for images of student works, so yesterday I photographed a few pencil drawings (such as the one above) and today we pulled a proof of the block in progress.  She chose the ink color and paper, and the white ink on red paper did not work great, though she did really like the ghost/blotter print, and she's still excited by her piece.

Next week she'll have it finished, and maybe pick a better ink and paper combination.