sunflowers = smiles

Today was my first-ever painting workshop at Maine Behavioral Healthcare in Brunswick, and I feel really good about how it went! About a month and a half ago, I received an email from Kate at Maine Behavioral Healthcare. Kate said she came across my work in the Second Friday Art Walk brochure, and reached out to see if I'd be interested in being a "guest artist" for an afternoon. I called Kate and said, "Well, I'm not really a teacher, but I could certainly be a facilitator of sorts, and I think I could help them to have fun and realize that art isn't scary." Thankfully, Kate loved the idea, and she booked me for a Monday afternoon in late September. We ended up having to reschedule for today, but I think it worked out perfectly: this past weekend, Terry and I visited his sister, Heather, in New Hampshire, and while we were there, we stopped by a local farm. They had giant sunflowers for sale (only $1 each!) and I knew they had to be a part of my workshop!

                                                   

Getting them in the car was a bit of a challenge!  

So, I set up an autumn still life, with eight giant sunflowers, two gourds, five apples, and two decorative pieces of fabric. The sunflowers were so big, I had to keep them in the oversized plastic bucket Heather loaned me so I could get them home from New Hampshire! There were five people in the group today, and everyone's face lit up when they saw the bucket full of sunflowers. They were even more excited when I told them they could each take one home with them at the end of our session! I started off with a quick introduction (including showing the group examples of my work in magnet form just so they could get a sense of who I was and what I did), and then I passed out paint, palettes, paper towels, water cups, and canvas panels to each person. I also put a giant pile of brushes in the middle of the table so everyone could choose their own. They were a bit tentative at first, which makes sense (painting isn't something that was very familiar to them, and sometimes a blank canvas can be intimidating to even the most experienced of artists), but as you can see, they turned out some pretty nice (and very individual) work! 

different points of view

The afternoon went by quickly, and before too long, it was time to clean up. One woman in particular asked if she could work on her painting the next time they met, which I thought was great! Everyone thanked me for coming, and I thanked everyone for spending their afternoon creating with me. I hope all of the people who attended this workshop today will look back on the experience as being a positive one. I know I certainly will!