We had a pretty big crowd in, today. The Glasgow branch of Doctor Sketchy came in to put on a performance, so that drew in some Sketchy Afficionados. I don't know if that's a genuine term or if I just coined it, but if I did then I hope it catches on. I'm pleased with it.
I spent some time before the class helping to rearrange the club so that the tables and chairs were gathered round the stage, then sat at the bar for a while, tweaking the photographs I'd taken of Grettel Grimm. I've got to the point, right now, where I've got a huge amount of pictures to work on and a huge amount of blog entries to write, so I'm probably going to be pretty busy for the next few days. It's great, though - I've always been happier having too much to do than not having enough. I've got one of those minds that never seems to slow down.
As everybody started to arrive, I got into character in the tea room, and waited to see if anyone would join me, but they mostly went straight through to the stage, so they could get ready for the art class. But the compere (Boss? Ringmaster?) of the Doctor Sketchy group poked his head through the curtains, said "Hello, naked man," and invited me to participate in one of the poses. I had no problem with that.
Now, I'm not a drawer, but I was invited to get dressed and join the class anyway. So I sat in the audience and fumbled my way through six Doctor Sketchy poses - trying very hard not to make the models look grotesque. An interesting bit of role reversal, since I usually don't do any drawing at all. It's something I tend to avoid. Even when I volunteered for the Edinburgh branch of Doctor Sketchy, I managed to duck those challenges, for fear of bringing my artistic deficiencies to the surface and revealing them to everyone.
First challenge - make eye contact with another member of the class and draw a picture of each other. I nodded at a man who looked (from my skewed perspective) a bit like Hugo Weaving. We also had to use our imaginations and draw gimp masks on each other, which was funny. My drawing of him ended up looking a bit like the pumpkin guy from The nightmare before Christmas. Well, at least it had personality.
Both models were introduced onto the stage individually - an intro that featured each of them doing a burlesque dance. One had a routine with a giant balloon, while the other hung up some washing in a very saucy way - she had pegs (and a sock) strategically hidden. Both models posed for the drawing challenges individually, then posed together towards the end. And then, for the final pose, I was invited up on to the stage to join them.
I was asked to do "a manly pose", so I tried to look both comedic and heroic at the same time. Feet apart, hands on hips, and head turned to stare into the distance. Both girls were positioned so that their backs were turned to me, in a disinterested way. Snubbed. The Doctor Sketchy compere (another term that I want to catch on, now) asked if I minded some pictures being taken of the pose and I was completely cool with that. I hope to get some copies of them very soon - in which case I'll update this posting.
Later, there were a couple of talks and exhibitions, and I was invited to hang back and observe them. First was a talk about the history of burlesque and strip tease in the UK, which was both educational and really funny. After that, there was ArtWank - a short performance combining some vintage porn, a bit of audience participation (and once again, I was on the stage) and some more comedy.
A great way to end the Festival. And I'm looking forward to getting involved once again, when more events kick off later in the year.
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