Local artist Leanne Nicholson introduced participants to the shapes and stories of animal bones and skulls through an afternoon of hands-on painting.
What can you learn from a bone? Quite a bit, as participants discovered during Wednesday’s afternoon workshop at Dyment Recreation Hall.
Local Borups Corners artist Leanne Nicholson brought participants together on August 12 for an unusual three-hour art session focused on painting bones and animal skulls. Rather than starting with a blank sheet of paper, everyone began with natural objects that already had their own shapes, textures and character.
Leanne talked about the different bones and helped participants understand what they were looking at before they began painting. The rest of the afternoon was spent experimenting with colour and design, with each person finding their own way to work with the materials.
The workshop is one of many activities taking place during the fourth year of the Summer Arts Program. The program is built around arts-based and participatory community building, with a strong focus on developing creative skills and confidence. It continues through October 18.
There are also regular opportunities to drop in at Dyment Recreation Hall. The recreation drop-in runs every Monday and Wednesday from 1 to 4 p.m., and everyone is welcome. You do not need to be an artist or have a project underway to come by.
The workshop pieces may not be finished when the afternoon ends, either. Some will be included in the upcoming Fall Arts Exhibition at Dyment Recreation Hall, which opens September 12.
It was a good reminder that art does not always begin with a traditional canvas. Sometimes the starting point is something found in nature, a new skill and a willingness to see it differently.
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