The California Building, in NE Minneapolis, hosts the studios of around 80 artists, one of whom, Florence Hill, has held a Sunday figure drawing session since the early 1970s (in various places before arriving at the California building), the longest continually running figure drawing group in the area. Florence, in her 90s, is small woman with a big heart and a big talent. I’ve posed there a number of times in the past year and a half, including last Sunday. My shyness tends to grow when I’m there, due to its size – I’ve seen more than 40 artists in attendance, and never fewer than around 25. As kind as everyone is, I get more nervous as the number of artists increases. But, surprise surprise, my nerves were calm on Sunday, despite a somewhat sore back and a medium-large group. I may be (finally) getting the hang of this.

Sessions at Florence’s start with five 2-minute poses, followed by three 5-minute, and three 10-minute poses. After a break there’s a 20-minute and a 25-minute pose, another break, and a final 20 and 25-minute pose. The room is big, with artists spread all over the room and the model stand in the middle. Here are a few drawings from Sunday’s session:

I always look forward to posing for Florence’s group and love the challenge of trying to create drawable shapes for a large diverse group without repeating poses from previous sessions. Here’s to you, Florence, and to all the wonderful artists who take the time to create there!