During April, I was fortunate to teach my Artful Layers workshop to two awesome groups. The first was in Harrisonburg, VA at Larkin Arts. We had a blast in this one-day version of the class, and I bombarded them with techniques, ideas, and materials. I loved the enthusiasm and excitement that the students brought to the class. It seemed like about half of the students were teachers or former teachers, and it was good talking to them about their teaching experiences and about how they might implement some of the ideas from the workshop into their classrooms.
We had a great day of making art together. I am very grateful to the eight students who spent the day getting messy with me. I thoroughly enjoyed the day!
A couple of weeks later, I travelled to Kansas City, MO to teach a two-day version of the class at Amanda Jolley's Studio Joy. Amanda has an amazing studio space in a former garage, so each student got a table all to themselves, which was good with all the art being made and the stuff they brought to the class. I loved that fact that Janus the studio cat oversaw the workshop.
It was very nice to stretch out the ideas and techniques and to dive a bit deeper into the process with two full days, and there was plenty of time for the students to just work on their art and explore the variety of possibilities offered through layering. Again, the students were awesome and full of excitement and enthusiasm, but there were often times of utter silence as everyone was just deep into their own making.
Since I never have an end result in mind, I encourage experimentation, exploration, and working on multiple pieces at once. I am always amazed at what the students come up with, and these two days were no exception. I think that artists need to work alongside other artists, at least every now and then. The ideas and the inspiration that comes from working in close proximity with others is truly priceless.
I am very thankful to Amanda for hosting the workshop, and showing me around Kansas City, and to the nine awesome artists who spent the weekend making art with me.
Thanks to everyone who joined me in April for a workshop. I can't wait to offer more.