Pelvis

This was a strange week; mostly due to the Wisconsin rally that was based on preserving the rights of public employees.  As an art education major, I attended the rally, and was proud to stand up for what I believe in, however the downside was it conflicted with my class period.  The time that I did have in class was spent learning how to draw the pelvic region.  When I begin to draw the pelvis, I start with a curved triangle shape that begins at the lower portion of the spine.  This shape represents the sacrum and coccyx.  Once I have an accurate depiction of the sacrum and coccyx, I then add the hips.  The hips and the pelvic region create a sort of butterfly shape.  This concept sounds relatively simple but I do find it somewhat tricky.  Depending on how the model is positioned the hips can change drastically.  If the models pelvis is angled, it’s hard for me to see the placement of the hips, so I then work on seeing through the body and imagining where the hips should be placed.  It’s also sometimes hard to judge how much space to leave between the pelvis and the ribs.  I noticed that some of my gesture drawings looked like Parmigianino’s Madonna with the Long Neck.

It has been an interesting learning process this semester.  Focusing on one component of the human form each week has been beneficial to my learning experience of the human figure.  This prevents me from becoming overwhelmed with trying to draw the entire body all at once.  I’m beginning to realize that I knew very little about the human form prior to this class.  The most helpful element I’ve learned thus far is the ability to take the human body and break it into simple shapes.  These simple shapes are helping me build a foundation to work from.