Double workshop day

Last week at Express Yourself, the first workshop I taught was for adults and we used tape as a watercolor resist. There was a videographer filming and I was told (as the microphone was being attached to my shirt) there will be a short film made at the end of the school year highlighting a variety of the year's activities, shared on stage and accompanied with a live performance. The participants at Express Yourself will perform a range of artistic expressions that they learned and developed while attending the program.

Teachers and other adult participants learned my watercolor techniques during the first workshop (later that day I was back teaching an artist trading card workshop to high schoolers).

Some of the finished paintings from the morning workshop

This afternoon I go back to Express Yourself to teach another artist trading card workshop to a younger group of active kids. Last week when I taught the high schoolers it was easy to keep them occupied because I brought in prepared encaustic cards ready for them to etch and embellish with oil pastel. It's always exciting to be able to teach and learn a new art medium. This afternoon's cards will not include encaustic but there will be a wide variety of art supplies available for card making geared toward the younger age group. After the workshop ends I will have a short break, then I teach my regular Thursday night adult watercolor class at the college. We have also been working on the watercolor resist lesson because I feel it is an excellent exercise to help learn the qualities of the paint. When we go back to landscape painting there is always an improvement in layering color and depth which is why this lesson is a personal favorite.