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The Barton Art League is hosting open studios every Tuesday and Thursday night, starting at 5 p.m. in the Case Art Building.
The open studio sessions are focused on improving the skills of Barton students. On Tuesdays the focus of the open studio is graphic design, and the Thursday sessions are centered on drawing and painting.
In the open studio sessions, students get a chance to work on class projects or projects of their own in an environment of creativity.
Being in a group setting also allows for other input on what students are working on. Have other opinions while working on a project allows for an artist to see how his or her vision is being portrayed to other people.
The idea of the open studio concept was derived from the success of a research project done for the scholarship symposium last semester by Donovan Woods, co-president of the Barton Art League.
“The purpose behind the open studio was to provide a campus community outreach dedicated to drawing the clothed figure from life,” said Woods.
The open studios he hosted for his project last year were open to anyone on campus who was interesting in drawing the human figure from a live model.
Many of the students attending the open studio were art majors.
“It was nice to have other students who may not have come into the art building before take part in the process,” said Woods.
Caitlin Barnes, a junior at Barton College, is one of the art majors who attended the open studios.
“Donovan’s figure drawing workshop helped to improve my way of looking and my abilities as an artist. Learning how to draw from observation rather than a picture or memory really does help,” said Barnes.
The open studio was popular with the students and prompted the need to continue them after the scholarship symposium project was finished. The need for another open studio opportunity focusing on graphic design also resulted from the Wood’s project.
The Barton Art League has already used an open studio session to make artwork for the Hackney Library. The library was having a banned book month activity and it wanted the art department to make art to be displayed in the library to fit the theme.
The open studio hosted by the Barton art league is a great opportunity for anyone who is interested in developing their skills as an artist and being involved in the creative process.
By Benjamin Hawley
Contributor
