Every so often, the girls in my family like to get together to reconnect with one another, so we started doing these tea parties together. We usually bring inexpensive tea-related gifts, and sip tea while enjoying each other’s company. We take turns hosting, and this time was our (Mom’s and my) turn to host.
For our party, we decided to have everyone paint. We looked up different paintings of teacups, and finally settled on a sweet and simple little project that would accommodate all skill levels. I taught it! I tried the project beforehand to make sure I could teach it quickly and easily, and here it is:
We used some old wood paneling rather than canvas. My Mom had a false wall taken down, so we had it sawed into various sizes. This little nugget is about 7×10 inches, and super simple, if you couldn’t tell! You will notice that my cup is a bit oblong, but that’s what happens to my circle shapes when I paint flat in low lighting… also, I wasn’t doing this project for anything but fun for my family.
I got the idea from Magic Markings Art Studio, which had an all girls tea party summer camp. The teacups came from there, but I left the negative space negative so that everyone could do what they liked with it, and everyone chose their own color scheme. I chose to do the spoon, some others did too, but others did text. (I am actually pretty proud of the spoon…that was my first time trying it!)
Believe it or not, but even this simple painting was a struggle for some. It isn’t that they lacked ability, it’s that they lacked confidence. Though I am relatively in a beginner stage myself, I remember feeling the same anxiety (and sometimes I still have it) while looking at the blank space that I am supposed to somehow beautifully fill.
I think this is something I could do for others–this whole teaching business…I really like coaching people through their frustration and into confidence. I got the opportunity to do this last night too at another larger painting party. A young woman was really struggling with her painting, and I sat with her almost the whole night rooting her on, and by the end, she was happy with her work. She tried crediting me, but it really was her work. She found her nerve, and she pushed through the scariness of the empty canvas.
Is not about being good enough. It’s about being brave, and pushing the limits of what you believe you’re capable of. 6 months ago, I didn’t know I could paint the way I paint. Now I can, and I get better every time. The kind of teaching I wish to do is not “skill” teaching, although that plays into it somewhat… it’s more like coaching confidence, and helping people allow their creativity to emerge, which is really hard for a lot of people, particularly if they have never seen themselves as creative before, but I am positive that creativity is inherent in everyone. They just need to tap into it.
Squirrelopolis 