Even since I was a first-year student here at Hopkins, I was interested in taking an art class as an elective. I am not a visual arts minor, but Hopkins is a great place for people who have a vast array of interests or want to try something new! This semester, I am taking my second art course; both times, the class was made up of students from all sorts of majors, backgrounds, and interests.
Art classes offered to Hopkins students are usually held at the Center for Visual Arts inside the JHU-MICA Film Centre, located at 10 E. North Avenue. But don’t worry about how to get there— there is a free shuttle available for students that takes you straight from the front of the Homewood campus to the Art Center, so you’ll often make the commute with your fellow classmates.
This semester, I am taking Foundation Drawing with Professor Sasha Baskin (she also teaches fibers classes here— if you are a fan of anything crochet, knit, etc.). It is once a week, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. While that might sound like a long class, the time goes by quickly! Typically, we start by reviewing our homework, followed by learning a new technique, watching a demonstration of that technique by the professor, and trying it ourselves!
Last week, for example, our focus was on value. Our homework was to draw a still life that incorporated the skills from that week as well as everything we had learned prior (contour and negative space). This week, our focus was on transparency. I walked into class to see our seats arranged in a circle around our still life set up for the class, which was a table with various vases, bottles, cups, and paintbrushes.
We learned about the ellipses we see in rounder objects (the top of a cup will not be an actual perfect circle unless we are looking down at it) and the distortion that water creates. We watched Professor Sasha Baskin do a quick demo on our in-class assignment, which included making a value scale (with a white charcoal pencil, black charcoal pencil, and an orange conté pencil we had not worked with previously) and drawing with ellipses!
We spent the rest of class working on our drawings—with optional breaks here and there.
Here is where I started:
I chose a brown piece of paper and two of the objects on the table in front of me: a tall bottle and a vase with water and two paintbrushes.
By the end of class, here’s what that same piece of paper looked like:
It certainly isn’t perfect, but that’s the fun of art class! I was proud of the work I did because I learned something new and improved my skills from the week before. It was also incredible to see the work everyone else did—they all had unique approaches to their own art, and every piece turned out so beautifully!
Taking an art class might seem daunting at first, but I promise, it is such a supportive environment, and it is a great way to lean into your creative side! 12/10, would highly recommend!
