Family Learning Easter Workshops....

It's the Easter holidays already starting next week and if you're wondering what to do with the children then have some fun creating at an Easter workshop at Havering Adult College. 

I'll be doing the animal puppet making where you can get to create whatever animal you desire using foam stencils, fabric paints, fabric pens, felt, googly eyes and a little creative imagination. Here's a little dragon I designed in the past but I'll have loads of ideas on the day to help you create your favourite animal.

I'm also doing the potty planting where you get to paint and decorate your very own pot together then plant up some seeds to take home and watch them grow. Here's one I made with my little one in the past....

They're completely free and spaces are limited so book on today at 01708 434995 or email familylearning@havering.gov.uk!

Hope to see you there.....

Painting to music....

Unfortunately my felt making session at Ardleigh Green College for International Women's Day was cancelled due to sickness which was a shame. However on the positive side I was able to join some silk painters for the day over at Toots Hill in the Essex countryside for a creative play day with music. 

Waassily Kandinsky often used music whilst painting saying that ‘Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations of the soul’

So with 2 tables laid out with blank paper (yes it was a little daunting to see at first) and one table laid out with an array of art materials (thanks to Sue Thomas) off we set with our first song: Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel IZ Kamakawiwo'ole. We all listened to this before someone took the first brave step to make a mark on that rather large piece of paper. Soon after everyone joined in making their marks creating together....... notice the rainbow and bird influences from the lyrics.....

Next we had a slightly change of atmosphere with Vaughan Williams - Lark Ascending.
Many others found this a delight to paint to and you can see clear meadows and English countryside forming on the paper but for me personally it didn't inspire me to paint but enjoy the music in the quiet idyllic environment.

We then jumped to the energetic Benny Goodman -Sing Sing Sing.

The results are amazing and you can see the energy and movement jumping from the paper......

Lastly we finished with Tonadilla (Enrique Granados) a Spanish guitar song. I love the Spanish influences especially the Latin dancers and Seville oranges. Again the movement and rhythm explode from the pages......

This isn't the best photo but I loved the results below. The technique is to have a really wet background piece and then drop thick but small dabs of paint. The result is a rather beautiful delicate wild flower meadow.....

If anyone hasn't done this yet I would highly recommend it. Not only were the results amazingly creative and representative of the music but it feels really good to lose your inhibitions and paint to the beat and rhythm of the music. Hence there was lots of dancing and laughter!!