PHOTO BY TERESA ODERA Senior Kelsey Kleinwolterink models for a life-drawing session. Models hold poses for an extended period of time while artists circle the room sketching and capturing the current position.
PHOTO BY TERESA ODERA Drawing Professor Emily Stokes (left) and sophomore Katlyn Loeschen (right) practice their figure drawing skills at a Thursday night session.
Northwestern provides a myriad of free art events for its students: main-stage plays, concerts, art galleries and a host of events such as NCDC and Airband. Some of those free events go unnoticed by students who are not in a fine art department — events such as Cabaret Night and Life-Drawing.
Life-Drawing:
An unusual kind of art experience is taking place in the Northwestern art building. The art department hosts Life-Drawing, a free event for students and community members from 7–9 p.m. every other Thursday. A human model sits in various poses while artists sketch. Each pose only lasts for a predetermined time limit, usually 10–20 minutes. This requires the artists to work efficiently.
“This kind of drawing is very important for artists,” said Katlyn Loeschen, a sophomore art major.
Because Life-Drawing focuses on drawing the human form, artists get to exercise their use of proportions.
“Proportions can be very difficult to conquer and Life-Drawing provides good practice,” Loeschen said.
Life-Drawing isn’t just for art majors. The art faculty extends an open invitation for all NW students as well as community members to come and join them for an evening of art.
“No one is looking over your shoulder or judging your work,” said Emily Stokes, assistant professor of art.
The evening is low stakes and designed to encourage figure drawing in a relaxed setting.
This semester’s Life-Drawing sessions will take place from 7–9 p.m. on Nov. 7 and 21 in Korver Visual Arts Center with another session possibly to follow in December.
“Even if you don’t think you can draw, Life-Drawing could surprise you and cause you to form abilities you didn’t know you had,” Loeschen said.
Cabaret Night:
Casual Broadway fans and fanatics alike will gather this weekend for Cabaret Night, an event beginning at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26 in the Allen Black Box Theatre.
“It is a bunch of people getting together to sing Broadway tunes,” said Emily Wohlers, the founder and producer of Cabaret Night. Wohlers, a senior double-major in music and theater, began the event last year hoping to bridge the gap between her two art passions.
Now in its second year, the evening includes more than 20 performances by both individuals and groups of students singing together.
“There will be a really wide variety of songs — popular, well known musicals, classics and some you may never have heard of,” Wohlers said.
With music from “Wicked,” “Singing in the Rain,” “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and much more, there is sure to be something for everyone.
Wohlers believes that music is key to expressing ourselves as people.
“There’s a connection that happens when people sing together,” she said. “They’re relying on each other. They need to trust each other. It’s beautiful.”
This sort of connection is what Wohlers is trying to encourage among performers and audience members.
“Everyone’s going to be actively engaged — responsive,” Wohlers said.
“It’s time to take out of your schedule and step into a different world.”
