Classes End Classes Begin

The initial series of art classes at the Jersey Shore Arts Center (the Green Room Classes) has the final meetings this coming week.  I guess we could call it a mixed success.  Getting a total of 9 students is pretty good, considering that the building has never had classes before. Attendance declining week by week is not so good, but I have no idea if that is due to lack of interest, or the freakish weather we have had the past few weeks.  Results of the classes has been good- people are learning, and people who learn skills are generally interested in continuing to study the processes.  How many of the current students will continue to sign up for August classes is unknown right now, but I will do my best to make it happen.

Normally when I teach drawing it has been at a college, where the standard is a 16 week semester.  Nothing happens the first and last week, and in that semester I would typically have a week of monotype printing, so really it's 13 weeks of drawing instruction.  Which is why I broke that class down into 4 week segments, 3 of them.  My first segment of drawing is the same as the first 4 weeks of the college class- drawing in line using pencil, concerns of contour lines, proportions, negative space, natural perspective.  Our last class on Tuesday brings it all together, a complex line still life with a variety of shapes they haven't seen in class before, but nothing I don't think they can handle. Ive taught drawing enough times that I know what students can and cannot do.  The next 4 week segment deals with value through charcoal drawings, and the third segment will introduce ink wash and conte crayon.

As the representative of the host organization, it is Nichole's job to promote classes and she has done so, putting out newspaper ads, e-mail newsletters, and some social media outlets.  It has worked at least some, as we had students in July, and have at least some inquiries about August classes.  But promoting classes to the current students, that is more my job and I am in the best position of anyone to do so.  Some of the drawing students already bought charcoal, so I assume they are interested.  But I figure the best thing I can do is show them what's possible. So I spent part of today putting together a good assortment of props for the last class, the objects I will include in the still life assignment.  In the college class we typically had a final line drawing, so this is something I am used to.  And since colleges have abandoned providing most assistance to faculty, I am used to providing my own drawing props.  In fact I have a large assortment of such things, for this pencil line drawing, and for the charcoal and value drawings to follow.  Besides the objects, I also have a large supply of student drawings covering all phases of the drawing class.   A lot of students never bother to reclaim their work at the end of the semester.  I would keep it on the shelf for the following semester, but if still not claimed, it had to go to make room for the next group of student portfolios.  I kept good examples to show students.

In my experience, the best way to get students interested in trying something, and to show them how it can be done, is to show good examples.   By their nature, art students like making things, so by showing them examples of how students can do a process or use a particular medium, you can get them excited to try it themselves.  And a picture being worth a thousand words, a completed drawing can teach them easier than I can with words.  So today I gathered props for the last class assignment, but I will also bring the charcoal and value drawings to class, so students can see them.  A very practical example of what we will be covering in August, and maybe something that will help convince a few to take the class and do it themselves.  Between inspiration and completion, a lot of art happens; my job is to get them to that place, then try to bring them over to the completion side.