This weekend I hosted a workshop in Perth, Western Australia. I had 12 wonderful students. It’s such a perfect number because there is lots of energy, but I can still give individual attention and enjoy myself!
Watching a person blossom before my eyes is a little bit miraculous… Being part of a that person’s creative journey in life gives me a HUGE WARM MONSTER FUZZY…
We made journal and filled it with mermaids, fairies, cute girls, stories. It was a mixed media fun storm.The class felt like a buddy Fest to me… A flocking together of kindred spirits.
My mother who has an OAM And more prestigious awards from a lifetime of business and charitable achievement than I can count, merrily sat and created a Rainbow self portrait that she is considering for the front cover of her new book.
Beautiful Bridie jetted in from the other side of Australia and graced us with her gorgeous rubber spined drawings – she worked hard and wowed us all. She has a passion for drawing that is contagious!
Wendy creates the most incredibly smooth textures in her work, and i saw the start of many pieces that will develop into true ‘Wendy’s”. Because Wendy was on of my ‘advanced’ students and has done all of my online classes, i set some extra special assignments and this is a detail from one of them.. how lovely are the colours!:
Maxine revealed a talent for seeing a story in jumbled collage and created with a zest that was a delight to watch!. Tanya worked and worked on one piece until she nailed it – the mark of a true artist! (that’s one of her works up the very top of the page). Cheryl’s front cover faces with collaged eyes took my breath away and inside her book she had girls resplendent in wild animal prints! Sarah spilled Paint and created a very happy accident, PLUS drew a very divine turned face, Karen made a 3D fabric Fairy that wanted to float right off the page, and create this lovely spread:
Kerry created an amazingly beautiful bejeweled bustier for her mermaid and Stephanie put aside her perfectionist lean towards realism for the day and dived into mixed media madness! The star of our show may have been Rosalia, who had never drawn before and created gorgeous long- lashed faces and mermaids all in her beloved shades of green.
I was so proud of everyone!
This was the classroom before the storm… draped in colourful silk and artwork… it was a little bit magic! OK, ALOT magic!
What a privilege it is to be part of a creative storm and send everyone home exhausted, but smiling!
…………………….
The Perth Art and Craft show has just kicked off… And I am SUPER jazzed because I will have the new Dylusions ink sprays and Distress Markers! I’ve been playing with them for a month or so and LOVE them… So have been hopping up and down in anticipation to get them in the store- can’t wait to share the joy of new tools- I know…. I’m terrible!
I’ll try and do a vid so you can see what i am soooooo excited about!
xoxox
Jane
21 Responses to Why I Love teaching
Jane Davenport
Jane Davenport is an internationally awarded artist, author and workshop leader. Her artwork is fervently collected by gentle souls around the world.
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OMG, those creations are stunningly beautiful. My favourite is the girl in the mirror, that just takes my breath away, but they are all awesome!!
Wow…sounds like all of you had so much fun….what an awesome set up as well
I’m so looking forward to join one of your face to face workshop one day.
I love it all! And a book by your mother? Awesome. What about? When available? Shes such an inspiration! No wonder YOU are so fabulous!
Wow….the classroom looks truly AmAzInG!!! The work totally FaBuLoUs!! It must have been a truly inspirational & fun workshop!!
Your students have created some fab works.I love the creative vibe that bounces around at these workshops.Keep spreading your magic.See you in Brisbane at the papercraft show.
So awesome!
Fabulous artwork! One of these days I’ll have to ship myself out of Alaska and go to one of your workshops. Thanks for sharing their beautiful creations!
Jane it sounds like you all had a fabulous time……roll on September and a whole week in Bali!!!
It was a great workshop and I learned so much from both you and Bridie. I did have a mini heart attack when you first mentioned the extra special work Bridie and I had to do but then just got stuck in. You do have a lovely way of pushing people to go further than they think they can. I loved your Mum’s space too.
What a lovely post! I had so much fun imagining all you wrote about. You gave us such a clear snapshot of your students and the wonderful time they had creating together. I’ll bet it was wonderful to bask in all that inspirational energy!!!
I’m so jealous!
come to Washington DC…
We’re so glad you love teaching Jane!!! We love being taught by you. Hope you had a fabulous time in the Wild West.
What a great weekend…..please come do one of those in Sydney sometime. What a great experience to be part of.(not to mention a girlie weekend with hubby and kids left at home. Ha)
That is so awesome Jane! It must have been just so inspiring for everyone involved. You are an awesome teacher and I hope someday to come to a class in person!
All these art works are soooo gorgeous! This has made me even more excited for Bali – if that is even possible!
It was such a great vibe in the class, everyone was so busy! And we had possibly the most amazing chocolate cake ever…!
Oh Jane, I wish I could have made the workshop. I came back from Bali with Dengue Fever!! on the Friday afternoon – so I would not have wished that upon any of you. So glad you had a great time. Please please let me know when I can attend another workshop with you in person. Loving your work. I’ve been playing with some sprays I developed a couple of years ago and loving them too. Bought some dylusions the other day, they are fun too! Can you recommend a good watersoluable pastel? Thanks Sweets – keep up the awesome inspiration! xxx
Just love your work! would love to do a workshop with you next time you are in Perth. Now on your list I will be able to keep informed
Yea, just keep your ear to the ground, and you will know about my next Perth ‘do’!
Jane,
I really love your blog. I joined your 21 secrets online journaling class. This is a great post because it really shows how much you love teaching and the thrill you get watching your students get creative. The examples are wonderful ! Sounds like so much fun too – wish I could jet across the ocean and join.