Teaching has always been an interest and a fear, I just haven't had the confidence to do much of it. I've dabbled here and there, but never really made an effort to truly hone that skill. The older I get, the more things change in my life, I am realizing that I DO have something to teach...something to share. I have 15 years of painting experiences to pull from, I have rediscovery of my own creativity to pull from, I've worked in myriad mediums (clay, metal, mixed media, graphic design). I am a people person, for the love of gods. I can do this!
Or can I?
My inner critic is a mischievous beast; always trying to sabotage my wonderful ideas. I fight with it every single day. It's exhausting. My new tactic with my inner critic (I should give it some cute little name, however don't want to give it THAT much more energy), is just to plow through the fears it creates and just do shit anyways. To be fearless. I kind of don't have a choice. Otherwise I am not moving forward in life. Just stagnating. Lingering. It's scary biz. And it takes baby steps and bold moves all at the same time. This is not easy.
Jump to my first "Creative Play Date" class that I hosted last Friday evening at my home. It was an idea that started with an inquiry about private lessons for a child. My wheels started turning that day and before I knew it I had this seedling of an idea. A concept that combined my favorites...entertaining, painting, music, wine, and people connecting. What was coming to evolve was the notion that I want to share a creative experience with people and be a facilitator of that experience. People who don't think they are creative, people who are creative, people who want to connect with others over something else besides a dinner table at a restaurant or a loud bar.
Turns out that I want to help promote COMMUNITY THROUGH ART. A declaration I wrote in my college artist statement. A philosophy that I believed in all these years. An affirmation I am actually just now grasping. Funny how that happens. Let's see what evolves...
ART.
It's what I do, it's what I know and aside from tossing it in the
rubbish (which I have done) I need to use it for good.
It's my superpower.
One of my personal highlights from the evening was when I witnessed Laura (in the pink) groovin' to the music which was completely informing her brushwork on the canvas. She was utterly immersed in that moment. Channeling her creativity. It was beautiful and at that point I felt my mission was accomplished.
Look at all the different brush strokes!
Once I introduced the stenciling station it was ON. It's a neat way to introduce shape and even imagery without adding pressure to "draw" on the painting. For some, that can be very debilitating. It was interesting to see who went for the spray paint method and who liked the sponging method.
Loving everyone's different approaches to painting.
Signing their masterpieces.
Community.
My demo piece from the evening. I did not get to show them ALL my tricks so I want to streamline the class even more. They were such great sports for letting me test the class on them and I'm so grateful for lessons I learned and the feedback I have received. I look forward to planning the next one!
