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Some people pick their kids up from summer camp. I picked up my wife, Evelyn Brody, from her summer workshop. Two weeks of drawing in charcoal on large paper canvas at the New York Studio School (8 West 8th Street in Greenwich Village). On the last day, I visited the studio at 1PM to see what Evelyn had been up to for two weeks. Pictured is her final project, which progressed much further as the afternoon wore on. Given the size of the papers canvases, we shipped most of the work back to Chicago in two large boxes. Where we are going to hang one of those works when it arrives is anyone's guess.
The workshop was all about learning to think in terms of shapes rather than literally. There was also a lot of practical technical instruction. Notice the taped marks on the floor. Evelyn was supposed to have her feet positioned in those marks at all times. Sometimes Evelyn doesn't follow instructions.
The final project is somewhat unusual. Earlier works were executed in quadrants, with individual squares being assembled into a large finished work. Here, Evelyn works on a single canvas. One exercise required Evelyn to include her shoe at the bottom of the canvas. The exercise was designed to emphasis the importance of standing in the same position. One of my favorite exercise was the the Wedding Dance by Pieter Bruegel the Elder (1525-1569). Each student was assigned the task of drawing a portion of the painting. The resulting drawings were then assembled into a single composite.
I was also intrigued with how the models were positioned. In Evelyn's Chicago workshops, there is always one model. During this workshop, there were two or three models in the scene, which made for far more interesting compositions.
I would show more of the studio space, but Evelyn tells me there was a major debate whether the other people's work should be shown before it is completed. Out of respect, I am not posting photographs of the studio, which is huge.
Copyright 2016, Jack B. Siegel. All Rights Reserved
