Don't be Wobbly!

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Just a few brief words on one of my classes:

So I am taking an archaeological drawing class here. It is both really fun and incredibly intense. My friend Anouska and I always leave feeling very tense and on edge, but the class is interesting and we are learning some really neat techniques!

It is very difficult to describe what we are learning to do. We are basically learning to draw pots (for now) as they would be drawn for an archaeological publication. This means that the representation needs to be as precise as possible, in black ink, and two dimensional.

The professor is a small, entertaining woman from Britain. She may be one of the most intimidating people I've met because she is so intense! She always chastises us to not have wobbly lines and her cure for nearly all mistakes is to drink tea with sugar. It makes me especially happy when she exclaims over something that was not done well- it usually comes out as either "Oh my goodness what have you done!" or a simple "Blimey!"

The process is tedious, requiring frequent measurements taken in a variety of manners and double and triple (at least) checking of measurements and lines. Once the pot is drawn in pencil we have to ink it. This is where you need to be sure your blood sugar is not low so that you do not wobble! Any errors made in pen have to be gotten rid of via razor blade! So far I am probably averaging between three and four hours to complete each pot, maybe a little longer.

It certainly is one of the more unique experiences I have had here in Athens! And hopefully it is a skill that can serve me well in my future should I decide to advance further in the field of archaeology.

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Photos

drawing of Geometric pot
the final product of my first actual replica pot drawing!

drawing of Corinthian pot
the final product of my second attempt at drawing archaeological pots!