On Tuesday, February 4th, students from Drawing 3 had their first pop-up art show of the spring semester in the upper Stu-Fac, exhibiting their sketchbooks in progress for two consecutive days. The show attracted many spectators, who had the opportunity to closely look at each artist’s work and ask them specific questions about the project.
The Sketchbook Project, exclusive to the Drawing 3 course, entailed students following distinct prompts assigned in class and completing work in their respective sketchbooks. So far, the artists have done eight prompts over the course of three weeks. The prompts include making quick sketches of people in the library, illustrating Caffè Nero’s architectural depth, and recreating works from the Fall Art Show, as well as others. The students were encouraged to utilize a variety of tools to fully achieve their expressions, rendering their sketchbooks filled with a variety of art mediums, such as collages, sketches in pen and pencil, and colored drawings done with Sharpies and highlighters.
The intensity of the project imposed a great challenge upon Drawing 3 students—each prompt involved the completion of four to eight sketches, meaning around 50 drawings had to be done within three weeks. Most of them devoted a considerable amount of time outside of school to the project. However, it was no drudgery.
Marina He ’20, one of the Drawing 3 students, said, “Even though it was a lot of work, the project was really fun. The prompts were very creative… I thought it was an awesome way to record our daily life.”
Their hard work eventually paid off and was recognized by many students who had the chance to come to the pop-up show. Cecilia Wang ’23 said, “The artworks were very creative. I particularly liked the collages made with magazine cutouts… You have to actually think about what fits best with the fragments so it differs from the original image but preserves some of its elements at the same time. In terms of realistic work, I thought everyone did a great job with including some detailed drawings in their books.”
Isabelle Aish ’22 commented on the prompt where artists recreated each other’s pieces. “I like the different perspectives. It’s interesting that you can see the same work with alterations in multiple people’s sketchbooks.”
Lisa Liu ’22 said, “The sketches of Caffè Nero are very cool—I can recognize the place! But I feel like [the show] should have been up there for a longer time.”
With the first Drawing 3 pop-up show of this spring semester concluding successfully, the course will hold more exhibitions of the artists’ sketchbooks and other projects in the near future.