Anatomy

Drawing and understanding a subject from observation is an important part of any art curriculum, but creating the human form, that is the real feat. The body is a complex and unique form that can be studied through its anatomy. During my fieldwork last semester, I watched as the students studied the skeleton and drew it with a white crayon on black paper. Almost all of the students struggled with this task and found the skeleton to be very frustrating. I think that the human form could possibly better be approached by studying the body and how it works before attempting to draw it, just as artists like da Vinci have done throughout history. This would also be an opportunity for the art curriculum to be integrated with the science and math courses.

Anatomy is an idea in art that I was not authentically exposed to until college. I drew my first nude models in drawing and painting courses where I was able to pay close attention to the human form. I enjoyed doing the quick sketches with charcoal (30 seconds-several minutes) because as much as it was restrictive, it was also freeing. Creating a perfect drawing was not a possibility in this assignment, so I felt free to experiment with how I drew the form and the motions I made. This is definitely a strategy I will use in my own classroom someday. For my own artwork, it could be a great sketchbook exercise to rapidly sketch ideas or objects and quickly, loosely put my thoughts on paper.