Chapter 2 #2
Saylor controlled her desire to do a happy dance. That’s why Sara looks happy. She has someone at home who cares deeply about her. Saylor tuned back into their conversation.
“It took all week to explain that it wasn’t the same. We weren’t looking at a hot guy,” Sara waved her hand up and down to indicate Max, “but we’re working on the artistry of how bodies are put together.”
“Exactly. That’s a great way to look at it,” Max agreed.
“With that said, I’m super nervous,” Sara admitted. “After two boys, my body isn’t in supermodel shape.”
And she has two children. She’d finished her setup, so she walked back toward Sara, forcing herself to stop pointing out to herself how unavailable Sara was for Max and joining the conversation.
“I couldn’t help but overhear. I think we’re all out of supermodels on the roster,” Saylor said.
“Realistically, we all have flaws and pleasing features. That’s the challenge of a class like this.
Everyone has to look different, or we don’t have to adapt and learn a new technique.
If it puts your mind at ease, I’ll ask for volunteers each evening.
Alice, over there, already asked if she could be tonight’s model. ”
“Oh, that does help. Thanks,” Sara said.
“Of course, and I wanted to apologize to you privately—well, somewhat privately,” Saylor said, looking at Max.
“I can leave,” he volunteered, not budging an inch.
“Of course not. You were involved. I’m afraid I’m a bit of a guard dog at protecting students. My concern was stopping comments on people’s bodies immediately. You had a natural reaction to Max’s injury, and my intervention wasn’t called for,” Saylor said.
“I like that you’re watching out for your students. And you apologized earlier in front of everyone as soon as you spotted what had concerned me. Thank you for that,” Sara said.
“Maybe I should apologize for showing up with a booboo,” Max suggested, with an entirely straight face that made both women laugh and completely wiped away any tension remaining.
“With that, I should start class,” Saylor said, excusing herself.
As she called the class together and introduced the quick lesson on proportions, Saylor fought hard to keep her gaze from centering on Max.
She introduced the standard proportions recognized by artists worldwide.
Simply based on the length of a person’s head, artists could keep a body they drew looking like it was one person rather than ending up with a Frankenstein-like figure that had arms from a different person attached to a mismatched torso.
She encouraged them to take notes on the card she’d left for them and to compare their measurements and those of their partners to the guidelines she posted some of the proportions for the Eight Heads Rule on the board for them.
Torso—3 heads
Arms—3 ⒈／⒉ heads
Hand—
Hip to knee—2 heads
Knee to foot—
The students calculated the missing two proportions using the jointed 3-D figure on their desk and reported out correctly.
A couple of volunteers came up for them to test the measurements on a human being and although there were subtle differences, the Eight Heads Rule worked well.
Altogether, that took about twenty minutes of class.
They were supposed to use those measurements to help scale their drawing for this evening.
As Saylor ensured the door was locked, she was pleased that everyone discussed the information with their partner. She signaled Alice, who quickly disrobed and took her spot on the dais. The class immediately dived into their sketchbooks.
Saylor moved around the room, returning the first drawings of Max with her comments.
She took time to give encouragement to each student individually and answer any questions.
To her delight, several artists grabbed the tape measure and compared the proportion.
Seeing them self-assess and connect the dots for why their sketch looked off pleased her.
Just that one piece of information could make a huge difference in their work.
At the end of the class, they would compare their progress over the semester. Saylor’s fingers were crossed they’d see the improvement in their work. That would reward Saylor for driving to campus.
The last sketch in her hand was Max’s depiction of her. He’d only chosen to draw her from the shoulders up so the proportions couldn’t be assessed for skill. She stopped behind him and forced herself to focus on the drawing instead of Max’s broad, powerful body.
“This was great work. You couldn’t see my body from where I was seated so…” Her voice stopped as Max turned back a page in his pad to reveal a picture of her sitting casually in a chair. She was flattered by the attractiveness of her image.
“It’s not perfect. I only had my memory to work with,” Max said, watching her face closely.
He cared about what she thought. “Your proportions are close to the norm with some natural deviations because bodies aren’t perfectly made. I get the impression that you’ve heard this before.”
“My seventh-grade art teacher had an art club during study hall. He shared the proportion thing, and it made perfect sense.”
“Ah! That makes sense. Let me see how your Alice is coming.”
Max turned back to the initial lines he’d sketched for himself. Saylor held out her fingers for his pencil. “Can I show you something?”
“Of course.”
Leaning over him slightly, Saylor maintained the most distance she could without appearing remote.
She added two quick, contoured lines to the sweep of Alice’s back.
“I’ve found adding a hint of curve to spines makes them look more realistically close to what our brains expect, even if our eyes don’t see the slight movement. What do you think?”
“That makes Alice look less like a mannequin and more like a breathing person. Thanks.”
Saylor nodded and moved on to the next person, trying to convince herself he hadn’t smelled good enough to eat. An X-rated image popped into her mind, and her panties were soaked. Saylor shook her head. Thank goodness she’d recharged her vibrator. She’d need it tonight.