Workshops in Mixed Media 2019
Picture
Sunday 13th January: Printing with Plastic
Using plastic of different weights, experiment with printing to come up with some fantastic expressive marks.

Sunday 27th January: Working with Wax and Crayons
Surprisingly expressive and fun! Use the resistant properties of wax to produce a textured organic artwork.

Sunday 13th February: Observing Natural Patterns
Explore the vast array of Nature's forms through the medium of paint and paper.

More details on request.

​More dates to be added soon.
Picture
Why not book a workshop as a fun event in the New Year? This is an ideal shared activity for family or a group of friends. Children over 13 years of age very welcome.

​You can also buy workshop as a present by buying a Gift Voucher. ​Email to order or visit me at Haddington Christmas Market at the George

Workshops in action

Classes held in the PACC, Haddington for 2019
For more information on how to register for the classes go to www.pacc.org.uk. On-line booking now open.

Mixed Media
Mixed Media means simply using different media at the same time, so acrylic paint with charcoal or watercolour with chalk pastel for example. We also use textiles and print. The emphasis is on exploration and having fun... there are no rules to be broken! So far we have drawn inspiration from the following themes: the landscape, still life, architecture and interior spaces. These themes allows the class to focus on different aspects of making artwork. We learn skill sets as well - how to use different material to arrive at artworks that best represent what we want to express.
Painting Techniques in Oil And Acrylic
​Colour mixing, tone and balance is covered along with using brushes and palette knives to produce different effects/textures.
Other skills covered include priming a surface for painting and stretching a canvas.
This class gives the opportunity to study different genres and specific artists. ​

Environmental Art with Student Teachers

Over the past few years I have spent a morning at Redheugh beach in East Lothian with Postgraduate Students studying on Edinburgh Univeristy's Outdoor Environmental and Sustainability Education MSc. Having an interest in creating art from beach fragments and writing object biographies as part of visual culture, I have an affinity with their interest in using the beach environment as an educational tool.

The focus of interest is usually what does or does not belong in the environment. We consider what may be percieved as natural over un-natural or natural versus man-made. Time is also addressed - the tide marks the passage of time - this allows for further considerations to be made as to how some man-made impositions on the landscape such as footprints are eradicated quickly whilst others take longer to disappear. This activity is a precursor to the students delivering related topics to Primary school pupils.

Suggested activities includes making sound maps; colour charts/maps; collecting samples from the foreshore, high tide mark and woodland and finally recording the contour lines found naturally occurring on the beach and the geometric lines of man-made objects in the area. All lines of enquiry follow the remit of belonging/not belonging. The idea of object biography is also introduced - the what/where/why/who line of enquiry or 'back story' of found objects. Evidence gathered in this way allows for further research conducted in the classroom in addition to being transferred to narratives for creative writing. They are also introduced to the practice of using viewfinders. These are readily made with strips of paper/card and staples and are easily prepared by pupils too. These are simple but effective tools to focus attention.