Art Class At The Mansion

When I got to The Mansion this afternoon for my monthly art class there were three people sitting at the big round table.  Mary was the only one I knew.  The other two people weren’t there for my class.

So I sat down and got to know Joan, who I’d never met before.

It turns out she’s an artist, although I don’t think she ever called herself one.  She’s been painting since she was young, oils, acrylic, and watercolors, completely self-taught.   When she found out her plans were canceled she decided to stay and be a part of the class.

Soon more people started showing up and we had to get extra chairs to fit them all.  It took us a  while to get started, we were having a good time just talking.

More than a year ago we painted on some vintage hankies, then I sewed them together and they hung in the Activities Room of The Mansion since then.

Under each of the hankies I placed a piece of white paper because I knew the paint would bleed through the hankie.

The papers  had some interesting designs on them  so I kept them, thinking I’d be able to use them one day.

That day was today.

At The Mansion I held up the papers marked with paint and when someone said they saw something in it, or liked the colors or the design, I gave it to them.

Then I told everyone to take a few markers and told them to let their imaginations do the rest.

Claudia, who loves to draw, surprised me by looking at the blotches on her paper and naming them.  I found her piece really creative.

Everyone was into it and if they got stuck about what to do next, they asked for my advice.

Some were abstract and others representational.

At the end of the class I asked if anyone wanted their picture taken with their art and almost everyone did.  Not only that, when I showed each person their photo, they liked them.