Tag Archives: Drawing

Art, Drawing Class, Happiness, Life

Drawing Class Part 2

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In May I signed up for a drawing class called “Drawing On The Right Side Of The Brain” at my local community college. I blogged about it a few times to talk about the ups and downs I had with it. To put it bluntly in a group of seven students I was the only one who had never had a drawing class in her life. Fortunately the instructor was worth her weight in gold and she made the experience simply amazing.

Last week I signed up for the intermediate class and I started this past Wednesday. Looking at the description in the course catalog I wondered if I was getting in over my head. I probably am. But I am not letting this stop me. Fortunately due to the last class I have all the necessary supplies needed.

What I remembered was the commoderie of the other students. Those who were well advance then me but who still gave me encouragement. It was three hours once a week to forget all the stuff that was going on in life and concentrate on the art of drawing.  No matter if I was stressed, not feeling well, worried about this that or another once I entered classroom 139 it all got left behind as the door would shut behind me. There were times I felt so out of my element. There were the times I would show my husband and son what I had drawn and one could see they were trying hard to not hurt my feelings when they tried to figure out what I had attempted to draw. That was tough.

But if I looked from day one to the last there was a vast different in my drawing skills. The very last assignment was for us to draw ourselves while looking at our faces in the mirror. That took every lesson we had learned to get this done. When Nancy came by my spot she looked at my piece and then at me. She told the class when they had a chance to come see my eyes for I had nailed it. That was something that well I can’t even begin to express how that made me feel.

This was one of the best class I had ever taken at this school. But it gave me something much more. Since the class I have sketched. Sometimes it has been to fight off boredom. But most times it had been to unstress from life. The drawings don’t always come out where you know what the heck it is but practice does help. This has been a new tool for me to use and it is something I am truly grateful for.

So yes round two started. I am sure it will be six weeks of woohoo and also good gosh girl why the hell did you take this class? It will be one where I will feel inapt compared to the other students versus when Nancy stops by and tells me in her soft voice, “Yeah there you got it.”

But it will give me new ammunition to my budding drawing skills. I have had people laugh at my sketches and also make fun of me taking the class. But that is okay it really is. For it is now more than just a class I take one day a week. It gives me a piece of mind when I need it. So I got one class down.  Even though it has been months since I have stepped in this room I feel right at home. I am loving it.

Class, Drawing Class, Right Side of The Brain, Stick Figures, Writing

Stick Figures

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After my Character Development class ended I searched the course catalog of what could be taken next. All the writing classes had either been taken or were already started. That is when I saw the one class I been trying to take for two years and now was able to. I would be taking a drawing class.

I am not sure how many of you out there can draw and well, but that is not me. My stick figures are the rage in my own mind that is. Sure growing up as a child I would color and draw to my little heart content but it did not matter then if it was good or not. The beauty of being young and not caring. But a few years ago while reading the description of the courses this one drawing class had a different perspective. One that I was not familiar with. The class was called “ Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain”. The concept is to awake our brain to a creative side we might not have accessed before. The artists we see today have figured out what the rest of us haven’t. We are so busy using our left side with its reasoning, speech, writing and logic that we don’t always access the creative side or the right side.

This class is designed to show the students how to access the imagination, awareness and creativity that is inside all of us. Something a child readily can do before life gets to complicated for them. Not having drawn much recently or well I was hesitant that this would be way out of my league. Fortunately the teacher on the first day said this class was for every one from beginner to more advanced. She said she loved the students who were starting at ground zero for at the end of the session we could see how much that person has grown and learned. These are the ones she loved to get in her class.

The time came for us to introduce ourselves and she started with me. When she looked at me I waved. Seeing I did not start she repeated herself. That is when I said, “ Oh I was just waving, you see I am one of your favorite students. I am at ground zero.” She and the class chuckled.

The first day we drew three objects. The first two drawings was to sketch a person sitting in a chair and then our hand. We were to label this preinstructional drawings and date it. The instructor then gave us a drawing, the catch we were to place the paper upside down. We were to draw from bottom to top. While this was time-consuming the task was completed. Turning it around to see how I did, it didn’t look so bad.

Having asked why we had taken this class was easy to answer. As a writer one needs to try different avenue to keep the juices flowing. If I can draw my characters on paper then a face can be assigned to them instead of just in my head. While it may not be the best it might give me insight and direction in a new way. It is worth a shot.