Figuring out figure drawing
People come in many different colors, shapes and sizes. Often this can be a state of controversy, but every Wednesday night it is something celebrated by artists at USU.
The Art Guild has joined forces with Marita Jackson, a senior studying art and the director of figure drawing classes, to form weekly figure drawing sessions in the Fine Arts Visual Building. From 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in FAV Room 209, students and members of the community are invited to bring art supplies and practice drawing the human figure.
“It’s a good exercise for artists to understand the human body,” said Heather Mahler, a junior studying art education. Mahler is also the vice president of the guild.
She said artists come to paint, draw and even sculpt the models, practicing natural positions such as sitting and standing.
“It’s a one-night event that takes place in the Painting and Drawing Studio where everyone in the club and community is invited to participate in drawing a nude figure for two hours,” said Jonathan Christensen, a senior art major. Christensen is another member of the Art Guild.
He said he frequents the weekly sessions and is impressed by the way the sessions are run.
“It’s really a professional environment,” Mahler said, regarding her perception of the sessions.
She said participating takes a certain level of maturity, and artists who want to improve abilities and better understand how to draw the human body should attend the group meetings. However, these sessions are not designed to instruct students, she added.
“We’re not teaching you how to draw,” Mahler said. “It’s an exercise — not a class.”
Jackson said this style of drawing is useful for all types of artists in learning depth, dimension and many other valuable techniques.
“It really helps you, not only to understand the figure, but understand forms of everything around you,” Jackson said, “because the figure is made of these basic shapes that you see everywhere around you.”
Mahler said the group generally uses models who embody the natural human form.
“Not everyone is buff and skinny. We draw many different forms,” Mahler said. “We like to celebrate the real human body — not the one everyone sees on TV.”
Speaking as someone who has both drawn and modeled, she said she finds it therapeutic and has found it helps with her self-confidence. She said it helps her see not everyone is perfect.
“There are so many young girls that grow up now and they only have dolls, (which) are meant to be perfect,” Jackson said. “As soon as you see a real person, your perspective completely changes.”
Jackson said she was nervous the first time she visited a figure drawing studio but found it to be a completely normal experience. Mahler said the activity is defined by the individual artist’s own perspective.
“When the model is modeling, they become an object, and it’s more about rendering the object to your piece than looking at a naked person,” Mahler said.
Although this is the first year the Art Guild has hosted the figure drawing sessions, it is not the first year figure drawing has been available to students or the community at USU. Jackson said a group of students began organizing gatherings for class projects, which eventually grew into an unofficial club.
Jackson said she decided to team up with the Art Guild due to a lack of funding. She said up until recently things were run “under the table,” but the group is now a more viable part of the local art community.
“This is the most official it’s ever been,” Jackson said. She said she was glad for the union because she felt the groups could lean on one another and help each other out. “We’re like Disney-Pixar,” Jackson said.
Mahler said some of the drawing professors have offered extra credit to students for participating in the group sessions in the past. She said there have also been upper-division art students who come in to work on projects. However, she said, the event is something everyone in the community can participate in, and it’s not just for art majors. She said anyone with $5 and art supplies is welcome to come and practice.
– audrey.moulton@aggiemail.usu.edu