Last night (at this hour, technically two night’s ago) I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a special event hosted at Norwood Club, a five story 1874 gem of NY. More on that in the footnote at the bottom. Currently home to a variety of contemporary art works, bars, even an outdoor dining area - it is a resplendent space for NYC’s creative minds to mix. A friend, who is a member, thoughtfully invited me. We attended Norwood’s monthly “Drink & Draw” night, hosted by owner, Allen Linn.
Allen creatively led our group of nine through two “warm up” sketch exercises to help us practice memory recall and perspective, choosing how to collaborate with or onto someone else’s sketch created moments prior. His enthusiasm and clarity, guided us through - a bit like a dance master class consistently layering a series of skills. We sat at various points around the room to do two longer sketches, the first solely of the model, and the second, the model and a prop – with an aim to give equal emphasis to person and object. The final third of the class was a series of several short sketches with undetermined amounts of time. This last session not only forced one to capture what they saw as essentials, but to release all pretense of “what should be” and be at ease, reckless even creating shape, shade, and tone. Given the frequency and brief sets, it was as if we were doing athletic training intervals, toning & quickening skills. There was such a fluidity and ease that was in stark contrast to when we all first entered the room.
I came out of the evening completely energized - Allen kept the momentum going and seeing the variety of perspectives everyone contributed was inspiring. It was also refreshing that while everyone had some enthusiasm for the arts, encouraging one another on, we all came from different backgrounds. We were an entire array of careers and artistic experience. While I didn’t get to speak in depth to each person, what connected all of us was the experience of creating. Seeing how the individual can create something that didn’t before exist, as well as become part of a collective was quite thrilling!
If you’re ever offered an invite, I highly suggest saying yes to see what it’s all about. Given the lush wine and cheese selections for the two hour drawing intensive, I would definitely check out their more extensive drinks menu and food options.
- You can read more about Norwood Club in this informative Business Insider article. It also gives you a better sense of the entire building’s atmosphere, versus, just one room’s experience.
https://www.businessinsider.com/norwood-is-a-club-for-new-york-creatives-2016-2
You can also follow them on Instagram @norwoodclub
https://instagram.com/norwoodclub?igshid=hr83hymcdgvs
- If you enjoy a bit of NY history, read all about the building’s original owner (14, 19 & 22 are especially interesting) with this fascinating genealogy link. http://lynnesgenealogy.com/Norwood/website/sources.htm
