The Dellow Centre, London, 23 June 2019
For a time it looked like this could be another session to suffer low artist numbers due to the fine weather. Only a handful of people were present a minute or two before our 11:30am start. By the end of the first 15-minute pose, however, attendance was up to almost 25. Life drawing Aldgate and Shoreditch is still pulling the crowds.
After the opening it was time for what the group’s organiser, Tim, calls “three-to-three“. It’s a set of a dozen poses from 3-minutes to 3-seconds: 3-minutes, 2, 1, 50-seconds, 40, 30, 25, 20, 15, 12, 7, 3-seconds. I sequenced them as if raising a heavy weight to my left shoulder then throwing it. Creative modelling! Two 20-minutes poses followed.
For the first 20-minutes I stood with a broom-handle vertical behind my back, holding one end above my head, the other below waist-level. Next I perched on a small stool for 20-minutes with my left leg extended and left hand clutching the back of my roost. This took us up to our break for tea, biscuits and a lot of friendly chatter.
There were to be two poses after the interval: first for 10-minutes standing with knees slightly bent and both hands reaching over to my left; second for half an hour back on the stool, leaning forwards. I picked the poses, Tim finessed the locations. Back a bit, or – in the case of the latter – back all the way to the wall rather than in the round.
Windows were ajar in the early afternoon warmth. Without my glasses I had to squint at the shifting light as they opened and angled in the building opposite – not because of a dazzle, but to see what was going on with the person seemingly craning my way. Doubtful they were gawping at me… not that I care. It was a nice day. Peace to all.
steve ritter 