I've just gotten back in to painting pottery. That's right. I've owned Brushstrokes for 13 years, and have always loved painting pottery and doing mosaics (and every craft I could get my hands on including knitting, sewing, quilting).
But in the last 3 1/2 years, my creative energies have been largely focused on the domestic arts including raising two baby boys. It's been pretty all-consuming. But now that they are two and three years old, I have started to get some of my other life back and that's included falling back in love with what we do at Brushstrokes. I'm addicted to it!
I've been going to Ladies' Night (a.k.a. Mom's Night Out) once a month so I can paint late in to the night with a bunch of friends. I get down to Brushstrokes as early as I can in the morning to paint in the quiet before the studio opens. And whenever there is downtime, I paint samples from some of the dozens of new items I have just been (re-) inspired to order for the shop.
Painting pottery, whatever your skill level, is amazingly relaxing and satisfying. Not to mention, it's like Christmas morning when you open up that kiln and see what the alchemy of firing a kiln does to your masterpiece. Every kid that has ever come in to Brushstrokes, totally GETS in and LOVES it. Some of the parents do too, but I think there is often something that holds the parents back from diving in. Maybe it's because they have to concentrate on helping their child paint. I get that (and think it can be really fun to be an observer of their art process). But I want to encourage parents to paint too -- and in some cases, that's going to mean coming on a separate visit to enjoy some zen time just for yourself.
Then the big question is: what to paint? The more you open your eyes to art and design in the world around you, the more inspiration you can bring to your projects at Brushstrokes. Coming in with an idea really helps, even bringing in source material (books, photos, cards, wrapping paper etc.).
Having a little instruction helps too, so please feel free to ask for advice from our staff. We also teach classes once a month: on Sunday, Oct. 11th we will have a series of classes of an hour or two each, including Brushstrokes 101 (an introduction to decorating tools we carry), How to Use a Paintbrush (not obvious!), Sgraffito Technique and a clay workshop in the afternoon. You can sign up for one class, or stay for the whole day for just $65!
We do these classes once a month so check our calendar. We can also teach private classes to groups of 5 or more -- just book a time with us!
