The Nederland library workshop blended charcoal drawing with local history
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Workshop participants use charcoal to study shapes, shadows, and proportions while drawing antique items from the Gillaspie House Museum collection.
An antique Golden Rule Pure Glycerine bottle, still holding some glycerine inside, sits beside a suitcase and other items from the Gillaspie House Museum collection.
Participants work with charcoal during a still life workshop on June 26 at the Nederland Community Library, using antique gaiters, bottles, and other objects from the Gillaspie House Museum as subjects.
Hats, a bell, spoons, and other antiques from the Gillaspie House Museum were arranged as still life subjects for the charcoal drawing workshop.
Artist and Nederland Library Assistant Director Jessie Ansari holds an antique jail lock during the still life workshop, where participants drew objects on loan from the Gillaspie House Museum.
Artist Jessie Ansari demonstrates how to use charcoal to measure proportions during the still life workshop at the Nederland Community Library.
NEDERLAND — The antique suitcase caught my eye first. Beside it sat a pair of ladies’ gaiters and a small bottle of glycerine, still holding glycerine inside, all pulled from the Gillaspie House Museum collection and arranged as subjects for a still life drawing workshop.
On Thursday, June 25, the Nederland Community Library hosted the workshop with antique items from the museum, giving participants a chance to practice drawing with charcoal while looking closely at pieces of local history.
The adult “makers” program was led by Library Assistant Director and artist Jessie Ansari, with help from members of the Nederland Area Historical Society. The class used vine charcoal, erasers, and pencils to explore shape, composition, proportion, perspective, tone, and value.
Vine charcoal is a type of drawing charcoal made from burnt grapevines, known for its soft, powdery texture and ease of erasure. No experience was required, which was good news for anyone intimidated by antique footwear.
The objects came from the Gillaspie House Museum, located at Bridge and 4th Street in Nederland. The house was built in 1906 by Dr. Carbon Gillaspie for his bride, Grace. Gillaspie served as Nederland’s local doctor, pharmacist, and, for a time, mayor. Their son, John, was born in the house in 1907.
Susan Kelly, president of the Nederland Area Historical Society, helped introduce the museum and its collection. She said the museum is always looking for docents, describing the job as spending a few hours in the house, greeting visitors, demonstrating some of the unique items, and helping keep the place open.
The Gillaspie family donated the house to the Town of Nederland in 1975 on the condition that it remain open to the public as a museum. At first, there was very little inside. Over time, local families donated period furniture, clothing, a reed-pump organ, an antique stove, a doctor’s kit, and other pieces of Nederland’s past.
Ansari started the class with quick, loose exercises meant to shake off the fear of making mistakes. Participants tried blind contour drawing without looking at the paper, then switched to their non-dominant hands.
“Let yourself make a mess,” she told the group.
From there, the class moved into silhouettes, proportion, negative space, and value. Participants learned to squint at objects to find their basic shapes, use charcoal to block in shadows, and lift highlights from a darkened page with erasers.
The lesson was simple, but not easy. A suitcase is not just a rectangle. A bottle catches light in strange ways. A pair of ladies’ gaiters can look dainty, stiff, and slightly mysterious all at once.
For my drawing, I chose the antique suitcase, the ladies’ gaiters, and the glycerine bottle. The result was imperfect, smudged, and a little wobbly, mirroring the antique-ness of the items.
Drawing the antiques made me wonder what someone might think a hundred years from now, sitting with charcoal in hand, trying to make sense of my own ordinary things.
The workshop was part of a monthly adult arts program at the library, which explores a different art technique or project each month. Past and future topics include paper crafts, sewing, painting, leather, clay, and other hands-on skills.
The library is also looking for community members who would like to host future workshops. Artists, artisans, crafters, hobbyists, and tinkerers are invited to share a skill or passion with the community.
The Gillaspie House Museum is open seasonally on summer weekends. More information is available through the Nederland Area Historical Society at NederlandHistory@gmail.com or nederlandareahistoricalsociety.org.
