My art class ...

Last week, I received an email from the Herrick District Library saying that they were going to have a couple of free art classes coming up. One would be on Japanese Rock Gardens, and the other one is Colors of the Caribbean. I thought wow, those sure sound like fun, especially since they're free!

Sign me up!

Tonight was the Japanese Rock Garden class. I'm glad I signed up when I did because they said the class filled up quickly (with the max of 20 people) and there was even a waiting list. I hope they offer these classes again for those who couldn't make it.

I was surprised, and yet thrilled, by this class. Turns out, this class wasn't just about Japanese Rock Gardens. It was about Asian Art ... Calligraphy, Origami, Japanese Scrolls, Rock Gardens, and so on. Basically, the teacher (who is a local artist with a studio in Zeeland) provided all the materials, and we could do whatever we wanted and she would help us.

Here is what I did:

This is my rock garden. I really love it because it's very simple. Other people in the class loaded their dish up with lots of rocks and shells, which looked way too busy for me.

My Japanese scroll. Obviously, not a typical Japanese scroll. We were supposed to paint on the paper some Japanese symbols using black paint. I looked through the Japanese letter book and found a picture of a flower and a butterfly. Forget the Japanese lettering. I made some calligraphy letters and drew this picture (yes, I DREW it, not traced it).  I then attached it to some dowels. While I was working on it, my teacher came over to me and asked if she could hold it up to the class. I heard many "Ooohs" and "That's really pretty". I was a little embarrassed because it's not at all what we were supposed to do. And the right leaf appears too big, even though that's how it looked in the book. But the funny thing is that after the teacher held up my picture, the lady two chairs away from me was hinting a little bit that she wanted her rock garden held up for others to see. Unfortunately, the teacher didn't take the hint. 

This was definitely a fun class and I'm really looking forward to the Colors of the Caribbean class next month!