I love to teach and have been teaching in all kinds of settings for years. Yesterday was a whirlwind of creative teaching that I thought you’d love to hear about. I teach art three days a week at my local elementary school to preK-second grade students. Yesterday I did monoprints with second graders. All you have to do is look at the picture to see the joy, excitement and pride they had in their creations. They were amazed that I let them paint on the table. I showed them how to simply draw with Q-tips to make a design, lay down the paper, rub and voila! It was like magic; such exuberance and surprise and awe all packed into a one-hour class.
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When the school bell rang at 2:30 I dashed back to The Bishop’s Ranch retreat and conference center where I’m the resident artist. As part of my duties, groups can request an art workshop from me during their stay, so I donned my art teacher apron again. This time it was with a group of women who’ve been friends for more than 50 years and had met in junior high school. They were so full of fun and ready to try something new. I lead them in a Georgia O’Keeffe-style painting class inspired by the flowers found at the ranch.
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Both of these groups were thrilled to be creating and making art. I get a lot from helping people open up their creative side, and both the young and old benefit from the experience. This month I get to dive deeper into the creative process at the CREATE Seattle conference. The great thing about teaching at a CREATE conference is that everyone there is so open and excited about learning new techniques. The six-hour classes give plenty of time to explore and get immersed in something new and exciting. I can’t wait to mix it up with my students during the “Light up Your Life Little Luminaria” class on Friday, October 24. There are spectacular possibilities with these materials. Everyone will leave with at least four luminarias and the skills to take home a whole new way to brighten up their world—it’s especially relevant with the holidays coming!
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I’m also happy to share an artist tool that is under-used so far … the iPad. On Saturday, October 25 I’ll be introducing participants to their iPad as art tool. The six-hour class will dive deep into the Brushes 3 app that has so much potential. Everyone will leave with a knowledge of all the potential of this app and I’ll walk you through creating a digital collage like this one! By the way, this is the same app David Hockney used for much of his work in his recent SF and NYC shows.
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| These are examples of my art made with the Brushes 3 (left) and Art Rage (right) apps for iPads. |
Also on Saturday, October 25, I get to share another favorite art app called Art Rage in a workshop. This three-hour class focuses on the watercolor tools. I’ll lead you in creating a watercolor still life using only your iPad. I took an online watercolor class from one of my favorite teachers, Jane LaFazio, and instead of actual watercolors I used my iPad and the Art Rage app. I loved the results and I can’t wait to share what I’ve discovered with you.
I’m really looking forward to meeting you and having the time and space to create with you at CREATE Seattle, coming up soon! ~Lisa (www.lisathorpe.com)