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Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School

By Ben Palosaari

Published on April 24, 2008 at 3:20am

Live-model drawing classes can be uncomfortable: a room full of semi-talented artists staring intently at a naked person, capturing every nook, cranny, line, and bulge. Yep, pretty awkward. Thank goodness for artist Molly Crabapple. The New York-based illustrator, whose work focuses largely on burlesque, created Dr. Sketchy's Anti-Art School in 2005 as an entertaining and sexy update to the utterly un-stimulating art classes we all grew up taking. The concept is simple: Patrons pay $10 to get in, art supplies are provided, liquor flows, and interesting people (bodybuilders, roller girls, burlesque performers) serve as the models. After a few drinks, looking at naked people and trying to draw their every detail has to get easier. Crabapple has even written a quasi-textbook for the anti-art school: Dr. Sketchy's Official Rainy Day Colouring Book. The classes have popped up all over the country and even internationally, and this will be the scintillating art event's Twin Cities debut, to be hosted by Drinking with Ian's Ian Rans.
Every fourth Sunday, 4 p.m. Starts: April 27. Continues through July 27, 2008