Welcome to June’s ‘In the Spotlight’ featuring Cass Art. Cass Art is an Art and art supplies shop. It has a mission:
‘A mission to fill every town with artists, underpinned by the company’s long standing manifesto. Cass Art is committed to encouraging everyone to realise their creative talents by providing the world’s top quality materials at the guaranteed best prices.’
There is a Cass Art shop in Liverpool, which I like to go in and window shop all the lovely supplies. I don’t know about you, but I love looking at all the different paints and mediums with the endless range of colours. Not so long ago whilst perusing the shop I noticed a sign advertising a workshop which would take place in the shop towards the back. This class was focused on mark making, and I will talk about my experience in a minute.
The workshop was put on by an artist and employee of Cass Art who was telling us that the creator on Cass Art wanted to spread art across the country, but also wanted a place for artists to display there work, and to pass on knowledge.
Now you may not find a Cass Art shop in every town, but there are certainly several dotted around the country and I recommend a visit if you are ever in the vicinity of one. Also, keep an eye out on their websites for up coming workshops.
Mark Making Workshop details:
This workshop was great for me, as we had access to different mediums from acrylics to charcoal and inks. When I first signed up to the class I was really looking forward to using acrlyics again as it had been awhile since I had used them. However, when I got to the class and started using them, I just didn’t gel with them like I did with the other mediums.
One thing I discovered from the workshop was how much I enjoyed using charcoal. This alone was worth attending the workshop for as I wouldn’t have ever thought about using charcoal.
Our demonstrator wanted us to focus on mark making with facial features, but asked us just to focus on one feature and not the face as a whole.
This was my first piece just using dye inks, and I love the bold impression you get from the medium.
Here is my first attempt using the charcoal and the moment I realised how much I enjoyed using them.
Draw Continuously challenge
The piece above was set as a challenge: to draw for 3-5 minutes, but to draw continuously. Therefore, your pen cannot leave the paper. I really enjoyed this challenge as I found I relaxed more whilst drawing and didn’t worry about any mistakes. I would just redraw and rectify them. Out of all the pieces I drew, this was my favourite.
After we finished the little challenge, we were asked to explore the various ways of marking with one type of medium. Whenever a bold mark was made, you had to balance this with a soft mark. Various different simple tools where there to help create marks, i.e water, brushes, cocktail sticks, string etc.
These last two pieces were trying to incoporate everything I had learned over the last hour and a half. However, I didn’t quite manage to finish the last piece, but I still enjoy the overall look.
I would highly recommend going on a workshop in Cass Art, even if you are beginner. There is opportunity for all levels to have a go and learn.
And Finally.....
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