Why You Should Get Creative With An Art Workshop!
Art workshops give you the opportunity to learn creative skills over time. Meet new like-minded people, stimulate your own creativity and improve your satisfaction with the work you create. The list of benefits goes on.
A workshop can be a one-off session or a course done over several weeks. One example of a program that I love to teach is ‘Introduction to Watercolors’. Over several weeks, I guide people through learning about what’s in their paintbox. I teach what the different paintbrushes do, how to mix colors, and then build on toward a final project.
I provide home practice suggestions, recordings of the virtual classes, and some additional bonus materials to help them learn more.
ONE OF OUR WATERCOLOR WORKSHOPS
Learning Actual Techniques
I want workshop participants to go home feeling empowered with the new skills they have gained and confident in how to apply them in their own work.
Listen to this less-than-desirable workshop experience from watercolor student Jan Ferris:
“Although I didn’t know it at the time, I had chosen a teacher who was more concerned with encouraging students’ creativity than actually teaching us how to paint. From that class, I learned not to waste my time with cheap supplies, and to paint from light to dark as a rule. But I was still pretty much uninstructed where actual techniques were concerned.”
Long story short: I don’t want you feeling this way. On the workshop calls, I guide folks through the process of enjoyable art exercises where they explore and apply the concepts learned. They are guided to create cheat sheets to help recall different techniques they’ve learned. Plus they can connect at any time for feedback.
Completing a Final Project
In my art workshops, I won’t stop at techniques but finish an entire piece.
By having a beautiful work of art at the end of a workshop students feel more accomplished
They wind up the art workshop with a finished artwork to proudly display or give as a gift. Even if a piece isn’t “perfect” to the student, trust me, whoever sees that piece is going to say “Wow! You did that?”
We Always Have a Plan and Practice Suggestions
Prior to each art workshop, we sketch out the most important lessons and help you gather the right supplies. The class overview is pretty straightforward. The home practice suggestions are given after each session.
When artists get ready to practice, they can review the video demonstrations, write down whatever they feel is necessary, then get started!
Preparation pays off in the long run.
Keeping Costs Reasonable
Knowing what art supplies to purchase for an art workshop can be daunting. You can spend an absolute fortune, or you can go to the Dollar Store. I suggest somewhere in between. When folks are getting started, going with bargain basement supplies will be frustrating: they won’t give you reliable, consistent, and predictable results.
Cheap art supplies give crappy results. Overpriced supplies and trendy gadgets will likely not give you better results either. When folks are just starting out, my recommendation is always to go a step or two higher than cheap supplies. The pigments go further, the brushes last longer, and it will be much easier to get the results that you actually wanted.
The Benefit of Small Class Sizes
In my art workshops at Flourish, I like to have one-on-one time to answer questions and provide guidance. I hope my students feel well taken care of and don’t feel like they have to beg for my attention.
Students are also welcome to email me photos of their work. I love seeing people’s works in progress and love giving feedback and suggestions. I’ve been in classes where I really wanted more attention from the instructor, but they were always too busy and I felt a bit neglected.
I never want my students to feel neglected.
One benefit of online classes is that when someone asks a question everyone gets to hear the reply and the reply will likely apply to them as well.
Unleash Your Creativity! Free Virtual Art Open Studio with Kim Wenger Hall
Calling all artists! Join me, Kim Wenger Hall, for a free virtual art open studio every Monday from 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST.
This is your space to:
Work on your current project in a supportive and inspiring environment.
Get feedback from me and fellow artists to help you elevate your work.
Connect and chat with other creative minds and find inspiration.
Each week, I'll kick things off with:
A short, inspiring tutorial to spark your creativity.
Open Q&A and subject requests! Have a specific technique or theme you'd like to explore? Let me know and I'll tailor the session to your interests.
Ready to join the fun?
Click here to join the Zoom Meeting.
Meeting ID: 852 5609 8684 Passcode: art
The Zoom details will stay the same each week so save the details somewhere safe!
We Don’t Forget to Have Fun
I keep my art workshops lighthearted and relaxed. While I want students to walk away with newfound knowledge and skills, this should be a fun experience! Learning and creating artwork shouldn’t feel like a chore.
With the home practice suggestions, I never say people should practice for a certain number of hours or even practice at all! We have so many things to be stressed out about in our lives that doing artwork should not add to the list of things that bog us down.
I encourage folks to paint when they feel inspired and do not take themselves so seriously!
After all, learning should be fun and the creative process should feel like play. and when we can approach creating our art with this playful spirit, back twist the skills we need, feeling like a true artist will be easy.
