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Archive for September 19th, 2015

Thoughts on a Workshop

Posted in Motivation, Painting, tagged GC Myers, Painting, Penn Yan, Workshop, YCAC on September 19, 2015| 2 Comments »

The best teacher is the one who suggests rather than dogmatizes, and inspires his listener with the wish to teach himself.

— Edward Bulwer- Lytton

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I tried to bear these words from English novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton (famous for coining the phrase “the pen is mightier than the sword” and the most famous of beginning lines, “it was a dark and stormy night“) in mind when I began instructing a two day workshop on Thursday at the Art Center in Penn Yan. Having never taken an art course or workshop outside of a disastrous college drawing class thirty-some years ago, I had little reference material on which to base my instruction to the group. I wanted to show them some of my techniques and have them hopefully incorporate them in their own work or be able to use these techniques as a springboard into something new of their own making. I just wasn’t sure how to get that across but I knew that just having them leave inspired to want to paint would be my main objective.

After the first day, I wasn’t sure I was cut out for this task at all.

I started with a quick demonstration and then sent the group immediately into the paint with limited direction on where they could go with it. I just wanted them to work with the process and get used to seeing the paint move and mix. But by the end of the day I could see that many of the group were frustrated in trying to master the technique and I was afraid I had put too much in front of them. Going home that first evening, I realized I was asking them to learn a process in several hours that had taken me thousands of hours to master. It would be like a musician playing a fairly difficult piece then asking someone who was observing to play it in a few hours.

So on the second day I showed a simplified version of the technique. The work of the day before, frustrating as it had seemed, seemed to set the groundwork for making the new work seem easy to handle. They watched my demo in the morning and they just took off like a rocket after that.

Bonnie B. With her finished painting

I was blown away by what happened. Each member of the group went in their own direction, those with some prior experience seamlessly meshing the technique with their own prior experience and creating pieces that were uniquely their own. I was amazed at how much solid work was produced in such a short time by this group. By the end of the day, my frustrations and anxieties were completely lifted and I left feeling that something of value had been transferred to this group, something they could use for to help them find their own path forward.

It was very satisfying.

Many, many thanks to everyone in the workshop. You were patient, intent, fun and easy to work with. You made my first venture into teaching a wonderful experience and provided a lot of inspiration that I will carry forward with me. While I am glad that you may have learned something from me, be assured that I learned as much from you and for that, I can’t express my gratitude enough. Thank you, Paulina, Jackie, Patti, Suzanne, Frank, Gini, Joy, Bonnie and Grace. I listed the names from the front of the room to the rear. Grace was obviously a trouble-maker so she was relegated to the rear table.

Thanks also to Kris Pearson at the YCAC for her dogged perseverance in getting me to head this workshop. She was determined to have me do this and succeeded despite my initial resistance. I am glad she did.