The community drawing sessions began Tuesday night at the Marshall University Visual Arts Center. Community members and students met on the fifth floor of the VAC to participate in drawing sessions. The Tri-State Arts Association built the event with the correspondence of the Director of the School of Design, Sandra Reed.

The purpose of the drawing sessions, according to the Tri-State Arts Association website, is to provide a supportive environment of self-directed drawing sessions with the subject of the costumed or draped human figure including portrait drawing.

The first sessions of the event brought in 12 individuals, 2 students and 10 community members. Reed said she temporarily minimized promotion of the event to the students to give the community members a chance to get comfortable with the sessions. Reed hopes once she promotes the event to the students, the sessions will grow in participation size.

Marshall University senior, Makayla Belle, participated in the session as a model for students to draw. Belle received the modeling position through Job Trax. Belle has modeled before while in Louisville, Kentucky. She said she took the drawing session position so she could “step outside of her box.”

The VAC provided all the equipment needed for the participants, all the way down to the paper and pencils.

TSAA President, Rabert Fulks, gave a few quick tips to the participants before they began. Drawing began after Fulks gave his introduction.

The event ran in 20-minute drawing sequences. Belle would position herself in her pose and the artists would have 20 minutes to draw. After the time ran out, artists had a small break to compare drawings.

Artist Linda Zban enjoyed viewing others drawings as much as doing the drawing itself. The artists maintain control and have the chance to draw however they would like. The sessions provided a collected artistic environment for the participants to express their creativity in their own personal ways.

The next drawing session will be October 13, 2015.

 

Taylor Poling can be contacted by [email protected]