Art department to host draw-a-thon

Fri, November 6, 2009 |

Faculty and students in the Valparaiso University Department of Art will redefine drawing at the fifth annual Draw-a-Thon on Nov. 13, with a variety of workshops based on alternative drawing processes to be presented.

Valpo's Draw-a-Thon takes place from noon to 6 p.m. in the Art/Psychology Building on campus. The event is free and open to the public, but space is limited, so registration is required by Nov. 12 by sending an e-mail message to Sarah.Jantzi@valpo.edu. Materials are provided and pizza will be served.

"The Draw-a-Thon is a chance for the University's art faculty and anyone interested in art to redefine the concept of drawing as more than simply pencil on paper," said Jantzi, assistant professor of art. "This event is designed to be informative and productive, but more importantly, it is meant to be a positive and active gathering of the Valpo's arts community."

Valpo art faculty and students will lead the following workshops:


• "Flashlight Drawing" – Back by popular demand and led by photography professor Aimee Tomasek, workshop participants will explore movement and light through the lens of a camera as they create digital masterpieces, noon to 2 p.m.

• "Monoprints" – Senior art student Sagan Newham of Valparaiso will show how to paint a picture and make a print. Explore paint, color and happy accidents with this simple printmaking technique, noon to 2 p.m.

• "Exquisite Corpses" – Leave your logic at the door and build a collaborative new monster using a favorite technique of the surrealist artists, 2 to 4 p.m.

• "Animated Charcoal" – Participants will combine drawing and movie-making in this session led by Jantzi, 2 to 4 p.m.

• "Unconventional Self-Portraits" – Michele Corazzo, adjunct assistant professor of art, will explore the expressive potential of mark making to create an internal self-portrait, 4 to 6 p.m.

• "Drawings in Space!" – Kevin Firme, adjunct assistant professor of art, who teaches sculpture classes, will demonstrate how the three-dimensional world can be turned into a canvas, 4 to 6 p.m.


Participants will be able to take home the artwork they create in each of the workshops. The Art/Psychology Building is located at the intersection of Linwood Avenue and Mound Street.

More information about Valpo's Department of Art is available online at http://www.valpo.edu/art.