Ok there's the group of brave souls that allowed me to teach them mixed media! Bless you all! These were 4 of my Margarita Girlfriends ... and the two owners of Elderberry Place. I was glad the owners did the class because if they get questions about the classes I'm doing they will be able to tell what it's all about!
So what did I learn???
1. I have too many stencil / foam stamp / mark making choices. I make many of my own stencils and foam stamps, so I kinda went overboard I guess. I was concerned that when everyone was in the phase of stenciling/stamping there wouldn't be enough things to go around and people (kids) would be WAITING on a certain stamp ... I will definitely pair down the selection. The kids will go into sensory overload just looking thru the paper scraps!
2. Two hours is going to be plenty of time to work these projects. We had bits of down time while things dried (and yes I did have 3 blow dryers to work with) and people got ahead and were waiting for the 'next step'. That will be the kiss of DEATH for kids if they have 'down time'. Daughter #2 suggested I have a side project they are working during 'downtime' ... like a card or a big tag or something.
3. Better organization of supplies ... we had crap everywhere to the point that I knew there were 7 pair of scissors on the table but couldn't find ONE ... LOL ... now I don't know if I can fix that cauz you know how it gets when you're creating ... and multiply that by 6 other people and you gotta supply tornado!
4. I personally created one of the best pieces I have done. And I did it by not "overthinking" ... FINALLY! All I was doing was grabbing pieces of paper just to show them the steps. I picked up pieces that I would never have put together. I picked up paint that didn't go w/ the papers I picked out ... I randomly stamped w/ colors I didn't think would go together. I was just grabbing what was in front of me to show them how to do each step. It was amazing.
5. Take.Pictures. I took NONE of the process of these ladies ... I only have this one of my own finished project.
All the ladies said I did a great job of teaching, but I'm not so sure. One of my friends said in all honesty "if you've never done something like this, it is very hard to grasp". That's fair. I'm asking you to tear up and glue down all kinds of papers NOT knowing what your end result will be. "And then we're putting paint over those papers? Why?" That was a question from another of my friends.
I get it. This is not their passion. They haven't spent 3-4 years watching every tutorial on the planet dealing w/ mixed media. They haven't played and played endlessly with all kinds of supplies to layer. So in that vein I don't feel like I taught them well enough to understand what each layer is and why (there are no whys really ya know?).
However, one of my friend is a retired schoolteacher and she said the kids will get it ... they won't CARE that it doesn't make sense to glue down papers and then put paint and stamps on top of them. They will live in the moment and happily create a masterpiece that is theirs and theirs alone.
I have a month to prepare for THAT class!
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