Courtesy of Lily Cannon | The Crow’s Nest
By Lily Cannon
Oct. 22 marked the James Museum’s monthly “Sketching in the Galleries,” and artists of all experience levels came prepared.
On the brisk October evening, visitors at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art gathered on the second floor among the checkered tapestries and collages with their arms full of personal sketchbooks and their hands covered in pencil lead.
The event attracted both the tired artists coming from their 9-5 job and fatigued students from the nearby college campuses. Their shared atmosphere was therapeutic.
Local artist Douglas Land stood at the center of a makeshift circle, giving a figure-drawing crash course for the newcomers as he captured the curved figure of a cowboy from the newest “Black Pioneers” collection.
For the next two hours, creatives intermingled with the regular visitors, some of whom even joined in on the fun, by grabbing the free materials supplied by the museum.
On the same night, a few miles away from their quiet artmaking, the Warehouse Art District was buzzing in celebration of the 2022 Shine Mural Festival.
Artists brought their sketchbooks as well, but unlike the meditative atmosphere in the James Museum, the air bubbled with conversation and the smell of food trucks. This event marked St. Petersburg’s long-standing collaboration with the biggest acquisition of sketchbooks –– The Sketchbook Project.
Visitors to both events varied in age and experience, and the diversity of the crowd was proof that the art of drawing isn’t limited to professionals.
The universality of art can prove to be a useful tool for University of South Florida students, especially as the semester is coming to an end and stress and anxiety are more common among students. For this reason, the Sage Neuroscience Center considers art-therapy to be one of the most effective and pervasive medical practices to treat anxiety in the last decades.
Kristen G. Congdon, a professor at the University of Central Florida, has mapped the therapeutic benefits of the medium, emphasizing its importance “normalizing ways in our multicultural world.”
In “Normalizing Art Therapy,” she describes the practice as engaging an artist’s curiosity and streamlining their brain, making it an excellent tool for people with anxiety and neurosis.
Above all, however, she advocates for art therapy as a normative practice outside of a medical context.
As students dive head-first into exam preparations in the coming weeks, they should consider allocating an hour or two to visual art, even if it’s just doodling in the corner of their notes.
Luckily, St. Petersburg’s booming creative scene offers plenty of resources for those looking to take their mind off work.
The next “Sketch in the Galleries” at the James Museum is on Nov. 15, falling on the museum’s “$10 Tuesday.” All materials are provided, and attendees meet in the room housing the circulating exhibition, so students can get access to the newest collections while they sketch.
Further up Central Avenue, the Morean Art Center holds Figure Drawing sessions for $10 on Saturdays, where students can practice anatomy with other artists of varying experience.
However, students don’t have to buy admission to these events to take a break from their work. Both the Pier and Vinoy Park offer a nice view across the bay, where visitors often sit and draw.
