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| Sequined Skirt conte crayon/pastel 20.5 x 12 |
I always look forward to Tuesday evenings when Ballet Excel Ohio teams up with Cuyahoga Valley Art Center to provide young dancers with live models for the evening. Typically the session begins with a series of 1-5 minute poses, wherein we are more likely to be treated to particular dance movements, where the body itself, as well as the negative space surrounding the body, becomes the subject. The major shapes in the work are complex, broken up and imply the energy of the dance. Subsequently, the model is posed in a more static restful position which she will hold, with small breaks, until the end of the session. This is when observational skills are piqued and extended. The major shapes are more self-enclosed, less dynamic. This quietude leads to a completely different kind of work...one that is more of an exchange between model and artist, one that offers an emotional countenance. These things, then, become the subject of the work. Two completely different kinds of work.
In looking back over the past works, I see that most of my work has been a welcome exchange between the seated model and myself...a quieter, more serious kind of contemplation.
I think that when our sessions begin again in January, I will try to make more creative and dynamic works from the gesture poses.....a bit daunting....but very exciting....I love giving myself new challenges.
