On Mondays and Thursdays at lunch, an assortment of Staff and Faculty members gather to explore their artistic ability in an art class, called Adult Draw, taught by visual arts instructor Kathy Rea.

The students began by learning observational skills in semester one, and are now learning about shading and light. Students are currently practicing hand-eye coordination, and transferring what they see onto paper. For example, the class has practiced drawing with their less dominant hand and drawing upside down. Staff accountant Shawn Woodward, a student in the class, explained that the blind contouring was one of the most difficult skills she has had to do.

“You think what you are seeing is what is happening on the paper, but it’s not,” Woodward said.

Rea said that she hopes her students will learn to ignore their preconceived notions of whether they are a “good” or “bad” artists.

“Everyone seems to think that we have to be born with a ‘drawing gene’ and if we didn’t get that gene, we are just out of luck…and that’s just absolutely not true,” Rea said. “Anyone, once they learn how to see and observe, can learn to draw.”