Art Class Musing; Beaver Queen Aspirations

All art requires courage. (Anne Tucker)
And going for the Beaver Queen crown requires a hot beaver & knowing your way around a squeeze box can't hurt.
(Sandee Washington)
In the midst of clamping my brain down on the challenge of planning the art mini-session I received a call from Beaver Lodge Local 1504 asking if I would be interested in going for the crown this year. 
http://beaverlodgelocal1504.org/  
Humble as I am I would ordinarily pass on vying for any kind of crown. But, when I received an invitation from Beaver Lodge Local 1504 I thought twice. The truth is, this has been a long lonely winter and my squeeze box is burning up from all the solitary play I’ve been subjecting it to.  There is nothing like the push of a too hot squeeze box to get you yearning to mix it up with other hot beavers. I’m in! (I will keep you informed on my progress in this endeavor.)

And the class! My goal is for students to see a face for real. And I don't have much time: 20 min. What has come to me is that the best way to begin really seeing a face may be to shut your eyes. The face is too familiar and to begin to be able to draw one we have to get past the 'knee-jerk' familiar. So as I woke up this morning I got it!!! The students will work with partners and they will close their eyes. Their partner will make there face into some expression and the drawing  



 

My Neighbor's Granbaby (I used acrylics and got to know the baby!)

partner will feel their face with their hands feeling the expression (and this has a double meaning because really you have to be empathetic to draw a human face well because you have to feel what the person in the drawing feels and if you are doing this right if you don't feel what they feel you will by the end of the drawing. You and the face you drew will be wearing the same expression! Really.) So, the person, with their eyes closed feels their partner's face and then opens their eyes and draws what they felt. 'Good' drawing has nothing to do with this. This is about feeling. TADA... the mini session and I can't wait!!!