It's a Wrap!

The final critique consisted of four groups evaluating the drawings of four drawing enthusiasts with no group critiquing their own members. This is the second time I have employed this process in a group critique and it was, again, successful. Each member of each group was a designated spokes person and presented a brief analysis of one of the drawings. It presents a creatively healthy situation in which the person being critiqued listens to comments, responds to those comments, and then the whole group briefly discusses their reaction to that interaction. They all seemed to be very honest and constructive in their impressions, and the use of the studio vocabulary was honed even further. It also allowed those who tend to be more reserved to feel comfortable, maybe empowered, to stand up before everyone else and present their group's impressions and suggestions. Below are a few of the final projects. My photographic abilities were severely hampered by defected batteries, so please bear with the under/over exposures. Trust me, they really look much better than what is represented here, but at least you'll get an idea.

Sadie's drawing was based on the "worm's eye view" of orchids and some drapery and furnishings. She executed it in graphite and really pushed the value range into a convincing illusory space.

Natasha did a self-portrait with mask, also with graphite. This shot, as well as Sadie's, is darker that the actual piece, but she did a fine job capturing the mystery inherent with this particular project.

Jennifer also took the idea of a self-portrait with mask by using a camera as the mast. It was an inventive approach to the idea of a mask, and well executed.

Adam took the worm's eye view of a curio cabinet, looking up through the glass shelves and the objects sitting on those shelves. Adam's approach is very soft due to his process of pushing graphite and then refining details.

So the spring semester is now over and we're about to head into first summer session. A condensed six weeks session of in- and out-of-class beginning to advanced drawing projects that I hope will prepare everyone for continued study in drawing as well as the other creative avenues they wish to explore. Drawing is about design and composition, it's about ideational fluency and expanding critical thinking, it's the essence of most art forms. See you soon.