UC Hastings College of Law Cabaret Event

I had the pleasure of doing a watercolor word art project for the Cabaret Event at UC Hastings College of Law last night. I have done workshops with large groups before, but I sometimes get a little nervous since there is a lot to consider. When doing workshops for up to 100 people, you need to watch your budget even more closely, create something that is easy to teach a lot of people at once and is just something that turns out really cool that they can take away. 

We'll start with a few images from Niki Baker's project. Thanks to Niki of Foreignspell for getting me involved. She had a table set up for guests to stamp their own cards with her designs. Their were lots of rubber blocks and colors to choose from. Check out her awesome hand carved greeting cards and more!

NIki Baker's designs for Foreignspell (photo by Niki Baker)

Finished greeting card from Foreignspell (photo by Niki Baker)

A happy kid stamping his card with Niki Baker (photo by Niki Baker)

Watercolor Word Art

Weeks ago, I came up with the idea of watercolor word art since New Year's had just passed and I always get super motivated in January. I don't really make resolutions myself, but I thought coming up with a word was a good starting point for the guests at this event. I precut nice quality watercolor paper in the shape so that it didn't just look like a hanging rectangle of paper. 

Materials used:

• watercolor
• paper (precut into banner shapes)
• beads (I chose natural and colored wood beads)
• twine (I chose hemp twine)

My goals for participants:

• Experience watercolor painting lesson
• Positivity from the chosen word
• Make them feel like a kid again
• Relax, have fun and take something home that was memorable to make and use

Setup went fairly quickly. Some guests were a little afraid to create something from scratch. The rest that participated seemed to have a blast. Some started very sure of what they would make, others started out timid and ended up confidently brushing the paint on. I was amazed at their creativity in the project. I can only imagine how difficult law school is and how much they have to study. Many of the participants chose words that focused on being calm and relaxed or phrases that would help motivate them to pass the bar. 

Some of my favorites that they came up with:

• Free Spirit
• Pass (the 1st time)
• Push Through
• Love
• Relax
• Reflect
• Chill
• Soar
• Freedom
• Anti-bullying
• Breathe
• Believe
• Awesome
• Jazz

And some children came to the event too. They mostly wanted to put the sign on their bedroom doors. They came up with:

• Fun here
• Their name
• Love

Yes, some chose more than one word, but I don't make strict rules about artmaking. It was funny how a few asked me if it was okay to write more than one. They don't need my permission! I loved how enthusiastic everyone was. Here's are their finished products:

Believe/Jazz. I thought it was awesome that the man on the right decided right away that he would write jazz because it's his favorite word. 

Push through

Free Spirit

Pass (the 1st time)

It was fun to watch these friends crack up while working together. They made 'soar' and 'believe'.

My favorite part was stringing up the beads for everyone. When I held their project out to them, many commented that they couldn't believe how good it looked. I really love seeing people create and be proud of their work. 

I started my day by teaching two-year-olds at the art school I teach at. It was really interesting to work with children who experiment, explore and don't have a care about the end result, but more the process. It's really inspiring to watch them work. Adults tend to be more focused on the end result and perfection. I noticed many of the guests at the Cabaret event freed up and really enjoyed the process of making their hanging banners. 

A note about UC Hastings: Everything about this event was fantastic. Everyone I interacted with from early communication with the program coordinators to the security guard at the front desk were very friendly and helpful. As I walked up to the second floor, they have original paintings and sculptures displayed (I always love finding art in unexpected places). The whole floor was decked out in lights and was festive with the Mardi Gras theme. When I arrived, the floor was filled with students eating dinner. I must note that I loved how diverse the student population was. It made an impression on me to see future lawyers coming from all backgrounds. A big thanks to the students, faculty and staff for being so helpful and appreciative of the activities. 

Dog Days and Total Reinvigoration

Dog Days refer to the hot middle months of summer. While it's not technically summer here in California, it has been remarkably warm and it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so that's why this post got that title. This is a portrait of Brutis, a very fine dog I had the honor of painting. It was one of a few Valentine's Day gifts I was commissioned to paint. He has the best color coat and sweetest disposition.

Brutis

I rarely get sick, but I managed to catch a mild cold this past week. While it's not been too bad, I'd prefer feeling 100%. I think all the homemade soup, mandarins and a few hot toddies helped me get over it nicely.

It's been a very busy week, but different from what I'm used to. I'm reorganizing how I schedule my finances, time and projects. I keep looking for the finish line, when it's done and I get to paint and experiment. I'm trying to be super organized this year and I'm learning to be less busy and scattered as I was in 2013. So far, I really feel the difference.

Midst all this planning, I have cooked a few amazing meals and spontaneously decided to paint the front door of our house. I allowed myself to only choose from leftover colors from a public art project I did last year. I went with 'Navajo Red', a reddish orange color. For some reason, painting the door caused a light bulb to go off in my head and I realized I want to be more creative in all aspects of my life, not just with my art making. I feel like I have been so bogged down in the little details that I have been largely ignoring all the other ways I can make life awesome.

The new orange door

I was too excited to wait until the door was finished, but you get the basic idea. It turned out more orange than the rust I thought it would be, but orange is the color of health, beta-carotene, passion, adventure, transformation and increases creativity and appetite. Sounds good to me. 

What do you think?! I love it!

Yelp Elite Holiday Party

Last night, I taught a marbled paper gift tag workshop for the Yelp Elite holiday party at the Zero 1 Garage. I had never lead an activity or workshop for this many people before and luckily I came prepared because it was a huge success! The crowd was really enthusiastic and loved watching the process. To be honest with you, I didn't think so many people dressed so nicely would want to get so messy, but they did. Everyone was so thankful for learning this process and even those that said they weren't creative felt like artists for the night. My table was very crowded so I didn't get all the pictures I wanted, but I'll also post a link from Yelp when their post about it is up. Note that the lighting in these photos is a bit moody since it was a party. Here's a look at the night.

As I worked with the Community Manager from Yelp to prepare, we talked about how maybe 50-75 guests would be interested in the activity, but I believe it was way more than that. I pre-cut round and scalloped gift tags, made the floating carrageenan liquid in advance, watered down the acrylic paint, brought already finished tags for those that didn't want to get messy and provided a variety of sparkly string to attach.

Marbling is a technique that can be applied to paper, fabric or clay. It is the result of paint being suspended on a liquid surface. You can swirl the paint with sticks, combs, or just about anything with a point. The paper was prepared with alum to help the paint stick. When you set the paper on the liquid surface, it picks up the paint exactly as it was. You rinse off the carrageenan, allow the paper to dry and you're done!

The table is all setup for the gift tag workshop.

Another view of my table prior to the guest's arrival.

Some party goers starting to create designs with the paint.

Here, you can see the paint floating on the surface, ready for paper to absorb it.

The tag has been placed facedown to receive the patterned paint.

They are so excited by the results!

The final result! These lovely and unique tags are sure to dress up your holiday packaging.

Although it is much easier to print a whole sheet at once, I cut down the tags ahead of time so it would be easier for guests. I even brought a letter stamp kit so some participants wrote words like "merry" over the marbled paint.  The night went smoothly, thank to a lot of preparation and the surprise appearance of my friend Vickie who helped out. Please be sure to check out her jewelry here.