Is there a Dr. Sketchy in the house? Let's make art happen!

Photo by Darren Stone

I sit here, blogging, with a sore body. A good sore. The kind of sore that makes you feel like you've punched all your muscles in the face, and then lit a fire under their butts to run up a long, mean, never ending mountain of doom. Now that I think about it, this is how I felt every day during my time in Orlando FL!

This can only mean one thing... I've been performing, and lady-posing!

Photo by Darren Stone

My home town, Victoria BC, now has a chapter of Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School, and last night was the 2nd installment of this art event that is spreading globally.

Photo by Darren Stone

It's venues home was the wonderfully eclectic Superior Cafe, complete with deer heads on the walls, antlers hanging from the light fixtures, great food (hello sable fish tacos!), drinks and a full house to model for!

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

It was a NO PANTS PARTY for me, I feel best when there's cheekage. I posed, sang and played some accordion. I wore very high tranny/Betty Boop heels, on a platform stage, which made me feel like a giraffe that was afraid to look down. Oddly enough, I remember experiencing deja vu during one of my poses. I can't say I've stood on stage for a room of artists, while holding an umbrella, in opera gloves, with "Funkytown" playing before - but stranger things have happened in the world of performance!

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

Miss Lily Fawn had a turn at it as well, and we ended the night posing and performing together. I've never jammed with a saw player before, and I LOVED it! It was a pleasure to be contributing, and hopefully inspiring the minds of the artists that had filled the room.

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

Photo by Darren Stone

I was raised on art. Piano lessons, dance classes, and always in a drawing, pottery, or a painting class outside of being in public school. Then there's the few credits shy of a History of Art degree, and a fashion design background. Alright, I guess it's safe to say my life has been about art and creativity, and so I adore illustration, sketches; what ever whimsical things come from the combination of a drawing tool and the human touch.

I've had portraits submitted and shared with me before, and am still beyond thrilled to have these. Check them out on my LOOK page (scroll down to view them). Now there's even more! Here is a sampling of what I received as donations of artwork at the end of the event last night (thank you everyone!):

There are many more wonderful drawings to see. You can see all the sketches I collected in this Flickr set slideshow, enjoy!





If you were at last night's event and wish to share your artwork with me, please don't hesitate to get in touch! I'd love to see your work, send me an email.

A special thank you to Darren Stone, for the great photos, and a big THANK YOU to Kasia Waissmann-Coey, Lisa Boehme, and everyone at The Superior Cafe for having me be a part of this fantastic event!

Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School!

Come one, come all! Artists, art enthusiasts and music lovers alike! This event is for you!


Event:
Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School

Natasha Enquist will be modeling and performing, along with Lily Fawn, at this months Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School.

Lily Fawn - Photo c/o http://old.divanorange.org

Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, the alternative life-drawing organization, has recently granted Victoria it’s own chapter. Dr. Sketchy’s, founded by Molly Crabapple in New York, is an organization that promotes group life-drawing events in restaurants and bars as a way to make art creation more sociable, assessable and enjoyable. Dr. Sketchy events are held worldwide, encouraging both novice and more experienced creative people to gather and share in the joy of creative expression, the spectacle of the human model, and imbibe a libation or two…

Dr. Sketchy’s events are appropriate for people of ANY artistic experience. All that’s required is the ability to have fun and the desire to create! Events will be lead by Dr. Sketchy’s organizers and include contests and prizes for those who wish to participate.
Location, ticket and other information can be found at www.drsketchy.com/branch/victoria

For more information please email drsketchysvictoria@gmail.com
See you at Dr. Sketchy’s!

Tickets:
$12 (advanced or at the door, call 250-380-9515 to reserve)

When:
Wednesday February 22nd, 2012 at 6pm

Where:
The Superior Cafe, 106 Superior Street, Victoria BC

Accessibility:
Wheelchair accessible

Posture makes perfect

I had a great time over this past weekend being a part of This is Twisted Theatre's first episode of 2012. The cast is a fun group of people, who I really enjoy the company of, and the performances showed a fantastic balance of what each of us can bring to the table.

My weekend wasn't short of a freak out though. I have been dealing with sporadic back aches, lower back aches. Those who are tall can relate I'm sure, and I'm not about to blame my heavy instrument of choice on this lower lumbar problem. I got these aches before playing full time anyways, so I blame my height. Pretty scary though, to feel so disabled suddenly and every movement hurts. Stress brings it on I believe, as this happened my first week into rehearsals at Disney. I nearly lost my mind when my back went on me, "NOT NOW, BACK!!". Ya.

Posture is a huge thing for musicians. I learned how to sit up straight during the years of classical piano lessons I took, elbows are at your side, and wrists lifted off the keys and fingers creating a cage - or that's what my teacher taught me. In the mind of a child it worked. Make your hands into a tall cage so that all the zoo animals can fit inside.

Things are similar for the accordion. Sit or stand up straight, take up plenty of room with your arms, have a good pair of shoulder straps - otherwise your neck and back will hate you, make sure the straps are positioned properly so that the accordion is strapped to your body for you to play with the most ease, the keyboard should be inline with your head, and when playing the keyboard with your right hand - play with the control from your elbow goddammit - not your wrist. You're going to hurt your wrist in the end, and you don't have the right amount of control over the keyboard as you do when you pivot from your wrist. I'll stop scolding now. I only scold because I see far too many new accordion players unaware of the basic playing/posture techniques.

Alright, back to what I love to do: PERFORM!

Here's some footage of what you missed this past Sunday, Feb 5th 2012:

There are plenty of stories about the Accordion Girl lost in Orlando, and with her ears of enlightenment she shares these stories.