Taking Studio Art at Dartmouth
To complement my engineering courses, I've begun taking studio art courses with the eventual goal of a minor or, if possible, double major. Studio Art—in the form of drawing, painting, sculpture, and more—was a large part of my high school life, and I've come to rediscover my passion for art while at Dartmouth (for which this class was partially responsible).
Currently, I'm in Drawing 1, which is a prerequisite for upper-level courses in painting and figure drawing. It's been my first exposure to the department at Dartmouth, and so far, I've been loving it. The studio spaces are bright, airy, and pleasant spaces to work in!
As part of the class materials, I was equipped with an array of charcoal and pencils, a sketchbook, and more—the class is designed from the mediums we have access to, so it was nice to receive a complete package right from the beginning (and if we need more it's provided). Besides having plentiful materials, we also have access to the studio space 24/7, which makes working on projects late into the night or early in the morning possible. Additionally, the department facilities include a "Still Life Library," which has nearly every object one could draw imaginable. For one of my latest assignments in drawing drapery, I sourced the type of fabric I wanted and arranged it for my composition.
We started with the fundamentals of accuracy and proportion, but the class moved quickly! By week five, we'd already finished figure drawing. Some of our assignments have included still lifes, eraser drawings, negative space drawings, and self-portraits. We meet twice a week for two hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays; usually, class is a mix of group critiques, instructor feedback, and actual drawing time. There are only about a dozen students in the class, so the professor has plenty of room to meet with us individually and provide catered feedback.
Our first midterm assignment is due soon, so I will get to that after writing this blog post!