New Block of Teaching at the PACC

This week heralded the return to the PACC in Haddington as a self-employed tutor. This is the fourth year as tutor in Mixed Media and the first in Painting Techniques in Oil and Acrylic. 
I have six students in the Mixed Media class, 3 new and 3 returners. Their creative energy was particularly high and everyone enjoyed the first activity which was basically mark making using a mixture of media on brown packing paper. After five minutes or so of working on one area, the students rotated so they were then responding to someone else's input. This is a good exercise - blowing away both creative cobwebs and inhibition. Next week we will review the results; use them to encourage reflection and analysis and consider next steps. 
The second exercise will be continued next week. This was mark making using stamps and other tools on tissue paper. This material will  be used in collage in self-led projects. 
There are four students in the Painting class. The humble leaf, autumnal in colour, donated forcibly by the trees by Storm Ali was the focal point for teaching. Each leaf was unique in terms of colour, pattern and structure, hence proved a good basis on which to discuss the ability of acrylics to emulate watercolours, choice of base colours, layering and techniques involving brushes, palette knives and sponges.