BEVERLY — A live, nude model hopes to inspire artists at three figure drawing workshops in Beverly.
The Beverly Area Arts Alliance has workshops planned for 6-9 p.m. on Monday as well as May 4 and May 11. The workshops will be held at the Alliance's Pelar Gallery at 9927 S. Wood St. in Beverly.
"This is so integral to our neighborhood," said Monica Wilczak, a founder of the group that also launched the Beverly Art Walk on Oct. 11.
The Alliance will again host the neighborhood walk on Oct. 3. In addition to planning its signature event, the group has also played a role in various gallery openings and other art-inspired events.
The figure drawing workshops are the latest such effort, and Wilczak was inspired to coordinate the drawings sessions by the late John H. Vanderpoel, of Beverly.
Vanderpoel, 54, died in 1911. The Dutch-American artist was a celebrated instructor at the Art Institute of Chicago and author of "The Human Figure." His book details thousands of features of the human body with both illustrations and text. It is still used by art students today.
"I think reconnecting with our history with Vanderpoel is a really important thing," Wilczak said.
While most of the Alliance's events are free, there's a $25 fee to attend each of the three figure drawing workshops. The money will be used to pay for a professional male model, who will pose nude at all three of the workshops.
Susannah Papish, of Morgan Park, will monitor the model. She's a member of the Alliance as well as an adjunct professor of art and design at Saint Xavier University in Mount Greenwood.
She said figure drawing was rarely available on the Southwest Side other than at the community college or university level. Even then, students wouldn't have an opportunity to take such a class until after being enrolled for at least a semester.
"This is a chance for people who once took figure drawing in college or at another location to revisit the process," Papish said. "It is essential to learn the basics before enrolling in an open figure drawing workshop."
Organizers are considering offering workshops that provide instruction in the future. Meanwhile, artists must bring their own pencils, pens, charcoal, easel and drawing board to the upcoming sessions.
The classes are capped at 20 participants and most are already half full, Wilczak said. She added that those interested in signing up were not required to commit to all three sessions.
Registration for the figure drawing workshops is available on the Alliance's new website. A post-workshop critique and discussion will follow the drawing event with drinks until 10 p.m.
But anyone mistaking the workshop for a bachelorette party will likely be disappointed, Wilczak said.
"It's a serious art form," she said.
For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here:
