When they asked me if I would do it, I said sure, flattered that I was being offered such an opportunity, but not really thinking about all that it would entail. I have been creating and launching educational art programming for children for a solid ten years and I came to The Beaumont Studios because I liked what these ladies were doing: a small, non pretentious studio, rich in diversified creativity and some serious talent – a communal space providing a platform for the true essence of ‘art collective’ unlike other places in Vancouver that posed as ‘communal’ but are more about who you know and whether you are deemed cool enough to make the cut. No, this Beaumont Studio is just cool by nature and was something else and I wanted to be a part of it! After describing my program, it was met with much excitement – let’s do it – just like that. I was kind of floored. The goal was to fill two programs geared towards kids but as we began promoting it, it was the grownups that began taking notice, prompting the unexpected question: would I tailor a new curriculum and run my classes for grownups? This was met with a resounding: ABSOLUTELY!
The next 4 weeks were spent re-tailoring the existing curriculum to be more lecture based and to provide a safe encouraging, semi structured forum where adults could connect to each other and to their inner artist and leave with solid introductory skill sets and 3 wearable works of art. We decided to run the program as one two-hour time slot, in the evening, per week for a total of an 8-week session.
I was a little nervous when in the first week of January, we picked a January 26th start date and capped the maximum registrants at 10. Two weeks later, fully booked, we opened up 2 more spaces, which were quickly filled. Reality sunk in. People wanted to take my class. Twelve infact. With the push and support of The Beaumont Studios, (hearts to Jude and Charmaine) I was going to be teaching my first ever adult design class based on a curriculum that I had created. Crazy like fox!
****MEDIA RELEASE AND OFFICIAL LAUNCH COMING SOON!****
UNTIL THEN: Blog Updates!
Day 1.
Wine, dim lighting, tables set, chairs out, music playing: as each woman entered the new ‘workshop’ space set up at The Beaumont Studios, I was mildly intimidated. These ladies were HOT! So well put together and each walked in with their own energetic disposition which made me dorkily excited. It is one thing to create a space where children can grow and connect and explore pushing their own limitations and boundaries, but at that moment, I realized that as an adult, a common misconception exists, that we are these established beings; however, here we all were, allowing a new kind of exposure and openness, proving that we are always imperfect beings, we are all children in spirit: innately needing to connect, to grow, to expand, to learn, to impact and to impart - each of us, innately needing to make sense of the world. How wonderful, and what better way to do this than through art, the essence of the heart!
Personal Style:
First day of class, we learn a bit about each other and go over tools of the trade, and start to learn basic skills to apply towards our projects and of course have time to assess why we are here and what we will get out the next 8 weeks. (I can’t reveal everything; you will have to take the class☺). But I will tell you this, what I told my new students….
One of my goals for all of you, is for you to start to see the world around you differently, with an awareness and an open mind – notice the negative space inbetween the branches of the trees, the colors the sky turns at different times of the day, how the air feels through your hair, how a fabric feels against your skin; take a moment to watch reflections of light in buildings and in each other eyes, take in the texture of the pebbles in the side walk, the gradation of the dying grass growing to newer and greener. Stop and smell, listen, touch and take in the world around you. Art is universal because it is in us, in (the heart); art is in here. As we can start to really see and experience the world around us in the simplest of ways, differently and openly, we are taking life in with our bodies and minds and all of this manifests in the heart and comes out in everything we do – the creativity that you will express here as a result is like the yoga of art.
Class 2– EXPLORING OURSELVES – Inspiration
Hauling in inspirational materials, the ladies of Jewelry 101 were at first intrigued: poetry, photography, painting…but then, as I handed out a “gasp” worksheet, I was met with a lot of groaning and whining, which made me laugh, my kids class did the same thing – they were tired, they came here to interact, to be creative, to drink red wine (the adults not the kids) and here I was asking them to write about how they defined themselves. Some students enthusiastically wrote and discussed their answers, some were openly pissed off; I welcomed both reactions equally. At least I was getting a reaction – that meant fire and fire can be directed into something amazing.
In some forms of artistic expression, we don’t really need to think critically, we just do what we feel, but in jewelry design, you need to also produce something that is durable and wearable, but also fits our design ideas. We need to start thinking critically about how a piece is going to sit on the body – will it be with purpose? Will it imitate a curve of a bone; will it sit flush or protrude? Where it will be worn? How it will hang? Will movement change its form? Do we want movement? Do we want its form to change? How we want to move with our design? What will it be worn with? How can we keep the integrity of a design and also apply form and function and strength and durability? How can we play with color and texture? These are all things that come into play when we start applying our manifestations, so while we train our fingers and hands to work intricately with new materials and tools, we must also train our mind, to delve and to think critically; the first step in starting that process, is by looking at what inspires you and then exploring how you define that....
What inspires me? Anatomy – how muscles move, movement in flight and in water, shapes in shadows, imperfection found in nature, the sensual nature of foods and fabrics, different textures on skin, strangely beautiful pairings, transformation, laughter, erratic angles, thick sloppy acrylic paint on smooth surfaces, weathered metals, the way birds appear to be floating in the sky when they all fly together and that moment when they go from perched on a wire, to swooped up in flight, the sexy curve of too high heels, color, freckles, eye smiles, starry skies -inspiration – what moves you enough to think about it, to take it in?
February 16th
And now...We are working on completing our first project – Asymmetry is key, as is experimenting with new mediums and mixing unexpected materials and textures. I am SO excited about how these projects are going from inspiration to touching and selection of components to sketches, to almost finished creations. We are functioning on the basis that ANYTHING in this creative process is possible. The designs the ladies are putting together are blowing this statement out of the water. So impressed! I am also thrilled about the final class that is top secret. Minds may be blown.
COMING SOON: PARTS by heather meets SCHOOL OF THOUGHT!
