CR Presents Imagination Figuration- A Lot of Local Figure Drawings

Published on Aug 24 2026

Floyd Bettiga Art Gallery, Wednesday, August 26 – Wednesday, September 16. 

A public reception will take place in the gallery Friday, September 11, 5 – 7 pm.  

The Floyd Bettiga Gallery on CR’s Eureka Campus begins its 2026 – 2027 schedule with an exhibition of figurative artworks drawn from life by local artists. This group show kicks off a year of gallery programming about Community, Service, & Local Spirit. 

One among all of Humboldt County’s many unique identities is that it is a place full of artists. A good number of those artists meet regularly in a variety of different groups and places to practice the traditional art exercise of drawing live models. 

The act of drawing helps us see. The action of figure drawing helps artists move beyond seeing people as collections of parts- beyond seeing bodies as conformity to standard proportions- toward the observation of singular forms, lines, and movements. It helps us all appreciate the beauty in that specificity. 

Imagination Figuration was conceived and organized by former CR art student Mia Hilfiker and presents an expanded definition of figure drawing, including figures in imagined contexts, abstracted forms, sculptural interpretations, and non-human figures. 

Artists in the exhibition include Mikayla Burke, Christopher Grimes, Mia Hilfiker, Joyce Jonté,  Sara Kimber, Katie Kirk, Bryanna Lopez-Tejeda, Dean Smith, Jesse Wiedel, and Bobby Wright. They represent several regular figure drawing groups including Dean Smith’s Life Drawing class at College of the Redwoods and the Redwood Model Collective. 

The Redwood Model Collective meets at the Redwood Art Association at 603 F Street, Mondays 6 – 8 pm and Fridays 10 am – noon. There is a $10 fee to drop in plus an optional tip for the model. Connect @redwoodmodelco on Instagram or email redwoodmodelco@gmail.com for more information. 

The regular practice of figure drawing improves the gestural quality of artists’ work and increases their ability to communicate aliveness. For both creators and viewers, figure drawing improves our ability to perceive things we see every day but fail to notice because we think we know what they look like- hands, faces, the beings in constant motion all around us.

Admission to the Floyd Bettiga Gallery is free and open to the public Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and by appointment. For more information, visit http://www.redwoods.edu/about/bettiga or call the Division of Culture, Society, and Communications office at (707) 476-4559.