My career as a passionate art teacher culminated on Saturday, August 5, 2017, as I taught the women's workshop, Discover Your Inner Bea-YOU-ty! Our day was filled with story telling, fun, joy, camaraderie, painting, giggling out loud, painting, learning new things about ourselves, more painting and Sharpie Tie-dying.
The day greeted us with clear blue skies, cool temperatures and a gentle breeze. From introductions to good byes at the end of the day, all eleven students, Dr. Gwen Rock, Amy Shaffer Post and I were truly blessed to be in one another's presence. Some very personal stories were shared with introductions, setting everyone at ease to share.
Our first exercise of the day, Jackson Pollack's Action technique painting was a real physical workout. I began the demonstration by throwing paint at two large red floor canvases. I encouraged the ladies to practice on my floor cloth, now I have a piece of their work in my studio. We explored color as a tool for self expression. We enjoyed our packed lunches with a great discussion on color and explored our feelings as Gwen facilitated group discussion. My one regret for the day, not getting more close up photos of the gorgeous paintings created.
After lunch we dove into doing a peacock mandala on a 6 x 6 canvas. This was a totally different experience, causing a few of us to stress a bit. Amy then talked with us about mindfulness and how it can be a very helpful to relieve stress, anxiety, and help us step back enabling us to re-center. She taught us a great exercise for mindfulness using our five senses.
Our final project of the day was creating tie dye with Sharpie markers. The ladies painted a silk scarf or t-shirt for their tie-dying projects.
I thank you all for attending the day. A day that will long be remembered by all who attended. I can't wait to do it again!