Linocut Printmaking

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9-4pm with lunch included.

Join BC artist Kerry Pagdin for two days of inky fun.

Design, carve and print your own linocuts in this relief printmaking course. Students are introduced to a variety of tools and supplies, from economical, introductory level gouges and inks, to professional options. We will experiment with printing on a variety of different papers, using both hand burnishing, and a printing press. On day two, students are encouraged to explore two colour prints; both puzzle blocks, and multiple block printing. Using registration tabs are also covered.

Arrive with ideas and leave with prints to share with family and friends! Be prepared to learn, play, experiment, and laugh.

It is recommended that students arrive with a few 5×7 designs to work with, and a sketchbook if you have one.

Material fee includes supplies that will be provided by instructor.  See student supply list for further details.

THIS WORKSHOP IS NOW FULL AND THE WAITLIST HAS BEEN CLOSED. Thank you for your interest!

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Experiment with Cyanotypes

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9-4pm with lunch included.

Cyanotypes are the oldest form of photography, first used to document plant specimens by Victorian botanists. These camera-less images are a simple, safe, and ecologically friendly technique, which encourage experimentation and spontaneity. Participants will make Cyanotype prints from locally gathered plants using three different techniques during this fun and exploratory, two-day workshop. We will learn the basic chemistry required to prepare surfaces for cyanotype printing, as well as exposure timings and methodologies, experimental approaches, and developing, toning and drying prints.

The first day of the workshop will be devoted to making both traditional and contemporary cyanotypes. The second day will be an opportunity for participants to explore the techniques of their individual interest, with the support of the instructor. The workshop will end with a sharing and talking about results. Cyanotypes are especially suited for working with botanical materials, but many objects, transparent or opaque can also be used to make images, including high-contract transparencies.

Cyanotypes are a non-toxic, hands-on photographic printmaking method that is suitable for photographers of all ability levels. This session includes all of the supplies needed to create these prints. Participants are also asked to bring their own naturally obtained materials, such as leaves, feathers, lace, flowers, and other items that may be utilized to produce markings and shapes on their prints. Other materials will be provided by instructor and will be included in the Material Fee.

 

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Throwing: Improve Your Skills!

This is a 2-day workshop. Classes run from 9 – 4 pm and includes daily lunch.

The focus of this workshop is on the potter who has developed some throwing skills but would like to advance their skills.

Techniques such as throwing taller forms, making beautiful bowls, and more complex forms such as teapots, will be demonstrated and explored. Throwing assignments will be tailored to the individual students personal goals.

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Millefiori Garden in Polymer Clay

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9 – 4pm with daily lunch included.

Discover your inner flower-child.

Join me on a discovery of colour and clay to create your own fantasy garden. Learn to create a variety of flowers and leaves in Polymer Clay in the Millefiori technique.  You will also learn to use those patterns to create a colourful garden collage on a flexible sheet that you can use in a variety of ways.

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Improv for Well-Being and Connection

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9-4pm with lunch included.

In this workshop, we will build group connection and cultivate creativity, using the principles of improvised theatre. Improv is not only a great way to be joyfully creative, it is also an impactful tool for personal growth. In this workshop we will play games that stretch our minds, deepen group connection, encourage self-expression, move our bodies, and fill the room with laughter. We will take time throughout to reflect on our explorations as we rediscover the joy and benefits of play. This is not a performance based workshop and no improv/theatre experience is needed!

Each day will begin with games to warmup our minds and bodies and reconnect as a group. From there we will dig deeper into themes such as active listening, storytelling, spontaneity, and embracing failure using improv games, as well as a variety of other techniques using the environment we are in.

Workshop Outcomes:
• Feel the impact of the phrase “Yes, and” vs “Yeah, but”
• Take risks in a fun and safe environment
• Have time to reflect on your experience in a variety of ways
• Gain a deeper connection with your group in a short amount of time
• … and enjoy some deep belly laughs!

“Brett is talented at creating safe spaces for people to step outside their comfort zone and be vulnerable. I love how she seamlessly weaves the core principles of Improv into personal and professional development. You emerge a better human and don’t even know it because you were laughing the whole time.” -Ame-Lia T.

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The Joy of Watercolour: A Playful Approach

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9-4pm with lunch included.

Here is a great opportunity to enroll in an activity that is both fun and rewarding.  Enjoy a relaxed and playful approach to watercolour, working small to start.  Participants come away with foundational skills to ignite the passion to pursue the love of watercolour painting and art.

This class is designed to give students a firm understanding of basic art principles including colour, value, design concepts and perspective.  Students will learn techniques through a variety of demonstrations, lectures, and personal instruction.

Students move forward quickly in the spirit of fun and experimentation. The goal is to increase awareness of the  opportunities to paint plein air as one learns to compose, plan and execute paintings in the field. Nothing surpasses the subtle nuances and observations that come with painting from life.

Watercolour painting is a wonderful means to express one’s individual creative spirit.

Material fee includes supplies provided by instructor.  See student supply list for further details.

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Mark Making using Handmade Brushes & Tools

This is a 2-day workshop.  Classes run 9-4pm with lunch included.

In this 3-part workshop, students will investigate the world of mark making with hand made tools. as a way to develop unique and rich ‘visual language’ as part of their art practice.

In Part 1, students will forage for and collect materials from nature. At this stage we are looking for a wide variety of botanical materials that we will experiment with back in the classroom. Students may also bring their own materials found in wild landscapes – forests, beaches, meadows etc.

In Part 2, students will choose from what they have collected and craft a number of mark making tools using a variety of material including jute, string, wire, scraps of fabric or wool, leather etc. Some materials will be supplied and student are encouraged to bring items from home to complete their own mark making tools.

In Part 3, using a variety of paper and inks, students will begin to experiment with mark making using their hand made brushes and tools. Students will observe how different media affect mark making and think about developing a rich ‘visual language’ and what these marks might communicate to viewers.

Students will look at contemporary artists such as Cy Twombly, Jose Parla, Julie Mehretu, and Lorna Crane, among others.

Material fee includes supplies provided by instructor.  See student supply list for further details.

Check out MaryLou making marks with her handmade brushes! VIDEO LINK

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Mentored Residency

This Mentored Residency runs for 7-days. Class time runs 9 – 4 pm daily, with lunch included.  

The Mentored Residency is a unique opportunity offered during the MISSA Summer Program. The Residency is a chance for artists to sink into their own practice and focus on their own work or project, while being supported by an experienced Mentor. The 2023 Mentored Residency at Shawnigan Lake School, will be in an open studio setting, with each artist at their own work station, but sharing a large space with fellow participants.

MENTOR MESSAGE:

My approach to mentoring is to try and help artists to be as clear as possible in their ideas and approaches to their art practice. Most artists are constantly juggling a great number of ideas, influences and expectations as they try to make work that expresses something that is uniquely personal. My goal in mentoring is to help artists move closer towards that distinct expression. There are a number of ways to support artists who want to move forward. This can involve using examples of other artists’ work, suggesting alternate working methods as well as providing technical advice and problem solving exercises. Mentoring also involves helping artists articulate their ideas and providing support and validation for those ideas. Whatever an artist’s chosen subject matter or preferred working methods, I endeavour to help them make the work they feel they are meant to make. – Renee Duval

Prior to the MISSA Mentored Residency week at Shawnigan Lake, the mentor (Renee) will host two 1.5hr online meetings with all of the participants as a group. These meetings are scheduled so that participating artists can arrive for their week at MISSA prepared and ready to work and take full advantage of their residency. Before each meeting, participating artists will be asked to send a few images of their recent work.

At the first online meeting artists will briefly introduce themselves and their work and each artist will receive individual feedback and suggestions about creating a focus for their week at MISSA. The second online meeting will be a check-in with participating artists and their plans for their residency week. At this point, each artist will give an update about how their chosen area of focus is coming along, whether they are having difficulties, considering a change of focus, etc.

In this way, the mentor can provide feedback and further suggestions to help each artist develop a tangible strategy for their week at MISSA. Participating artists can thus hope to arrive at MISSA with a sense of purpose and of community, and to truly benefit from their immersion in a creative residency.

Interested artists are asked to apply for this Mentored Residency. Applications will be shared with the Mentor and successful candidates chosen in consultation with MISSA.

Applicants who are current Friends of MISSA will be considered before other applications between February 7 – 14. Applications will be reviewed as received.

The Mentored Residency has a special 8-night accommodation package (July 14 – 21, arriving Friday July 14 and leaving Saturday morning, July 22). This package includes a single room with a shared Jack and Jill style bathroom. All Residency participants will be housed in the same dormitory wing. Accommodation price, which includes breakfast and dinner, is $1360.

Once accepted and registered for the Mentored Residency, participants will be sent an accommodation link.

Please see Student Supply List.

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Savage Sashiko Denim Mending

August 3: WEDNESDAY EVENING WORKSHOP, 7:00 – 9:30 pm

We all have a beloved pair of jeans or denim jacket — the ones with thread-bare spots from years of wear. Here is your chance to give your denim a new and improved life in this hands-on workshop exploring sashiko embroidery. Sashiko is a traditional Japanese embroidery style used for repairs and reinforcements while employing decorative design.

By practicing “mindfulness” through mending, we will create unique designs and patterns.  Just bring your favorite denim pieces and be ready for fun!

Please bring  an article or two of clothing to work with (jeans or other woven fabric, not knitted). Scissors, thread and Sashiko needles will be provided.

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Creative Photography & Social Content

We have all felt it. The feeling of wonder when you see the perfect image. We take out our cameras and phones and we snap away. Our eyes and brains excited with the real-life memory of the moment. Then, when we get home and check out the photos… they just never live up to what we remember.

Creative photography at its core is about changing the perspective of your images, in a way that is hard to visually experience in real life. It captures your moments in a way that enhances the experience and builds on your story that will last forever in the image.

This course will be the most fun you have ever had with a camera.

Learn to use your DSLR, mirrorless or mobile device cameras in ways that create unique and powerful images. Creative photography takes an exciting change of perspective to create. Whether you are a seasoned veteran photographer or are simply looking to make better social media content for your brand, this class will help you reframe the way you take photos.

Jared, a full-time creative photographer on TikTok and Instagram brings his creative photography experience to MISSA in an effort the teach a small and exclusive class of students the secrets of creative photography. Planning, building, and composing creative images will all be part of the fun in a 2-day workshop format. Hands-on and practical techniques will be demonstrated and practiced helping you bring home an amazing set of images and memories.

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