The Annual Aristides Atelier Show

Of course I didn’t think to take a picture of the drawing before I framed it. I was trying to get everything ready for the show! The finished “Amelia” was placed on the wall facing “Julius” so they could exchange concerned glances as they watched me rush back and forth in the hallway between them cleaning up the studio, changing clothes and trying to remember “did I have lunch?” in the week leading up to the show.

The angle’s wrong, the lighting’s wrong, and there’s a glare on the glass but I wanted to follow up “But Will I Have Time to Finish?” with a resounding: kinda! I would have gladly taken another week, but part of the excitement of life room is the clock is ticking and you just have to make due.

The show was a blast. It was on Friday of the beautiful Memorial Day weekend with many people jetting out of town early so imagine our surprise when a crowd showed up! This was the first art show I’ve ever shown in and the ability to share this moment with friends was such a boost. Like most of the atelier experience, having your first year drawings framed and on the wall is an exercise in humility and a huge motivator to work even harder in the years to come. We’ve got a long way to go. I was very proud of the work that came out of this year from my classmates and very inspired by the great thesis work from our graduating fourth year students.

My first year in the atelier ends on Friday with another show called Best of Gage which includes art from all classes at Gage Academy of Art. Over the summer we atelier students will resume our work independent of our teachers. There are daily open studio sessions for us to continue life room drawing and we each have projects planned that will help us continue to develop certain skills. As for me, I will focus on still life and master copies for drawing and rendering practice. They say you’ve mastered something when you can do it well every time you attempt it. That’s a lofty goal in drawing, but that’s where my sites are set.