Aviva Stone

One of the most inspiring models we had was Aviva Stone, who inspired a lot of NYC artists. I currently learned that she passed away last year.

During 2003-2004 I was running figure sketch class at Parsons School of Design.
Every Friday from 3 to 9pm there would be 3-5 models posing in front of a packed class of 40 people. We would start up with 5 seconds drawings to warm up, and later on 2 minutes, 5 minutes and 15 minutes long poses. In one session I would create a pad full of drawings. It was a great exercise. At that time the Austrian chick that i wanted to hang out with, totally ignored me, so it was a great deal to draw nudes to get myself occupied and not thinking of her.

I wish I remember all the models names, they were mostly undiscovered actors or dancers, performers or artists. Most of them were very good at striking a pose and holding it for certain time. I would always have a book of other artists in front of me as I would study the human form as well as other artists. Later on I started to distort some of the features I saw on the human body, characterizing it's unique posture. After all distorting is fun!