A Positive Class

...or was it negative? Actually it was both! Surface design, that is. As an experience it was positive... what we worked on was applied and discharged surface design - what I call positive and negative images. Continuing with my Arts in Education workshops through Associated Artists and the Arts Council, this time I was a guest at North Forsyth High School.

The art classroom was perfect for this workshop, having a large double sink station and a major exhaust system. We started with the negative - discharging - using Soft Scrub with bleach and bleach gel pens. Students stamped, drew and painted their designs...and thanks to the inspiration of Rayna Gillman's wonderful book I went loaded with unique stamping items like sliced pool noodles, bubble wrap, and rubber shelf liners. Fun, fun fun!

Next the students worked on the positive - applied - using craft paint with textile medium and the same techniques of stamping and painting to achieve their designs.

It is always inspiring to see what they come up with, and also to see what things they have been working on in their regular classes. One of the things that I saw on this visit were some really great linoleum block cuts and the prints they had made from them. They got to keep the left-over supplies from my workshop...I'm hoping they give them a try on those block cuts! I think they would get some great results, just as they did with me.