A friend and I went to
Painting with a Twist to check things out. Neither one of us are artists - she's a 5th-grade math and science teacher, and I'm an SLP who draws stick figures. But we were interested in making a Cracked Monogram, and here is a rundown of our night.
The instructor, Brad, first made us feel welcome and assured us that even if we weren't artists, he would show us how to use the supplies to make something great. The first step was pretty easy - painting a black border around the edges:
No evenness - imperfection, texture, and personalization were the name of this game! We added white stripes in various places and rubbed in the white with the black to make gray in some areas.
Around the inside of the border, we used a brush to make jagged lines like a stone and painted the middle white. Pretty easy so far. Then, we used dark and light brown paints to make shading. It was at this point there was some groaning going on. Brad told us we were too close to the painting and asked us to look at it from farther back - and it looked better! Instead of looking at the white glob I was trying to blend in - it's in the top right corner - I actually saw shading instead of the glob! We finished the outside of the frame with some shaded cracks.
We took a break to let everything dry. Brad asked us to think about what kind of letter and style we wanted while he got out chalk. Cool, I thought. They are going to letter for us, and we will just fill it in. Oh, no. It didn't work that way. We got to draw our own letters in chalk and paint over them. And I learned that D is a boring letter compared to my friend's H.
At one point, Brad offered assistance with my D - in the way of showing a paint technique on the table, not on my canvas. I had to look at his techniques and instruction and make them my own. Here's a picture of the whole class - we had the same example and the same instructions, but everyone has their own individual picture. Yes, I had to tie it into speech/language therapy.
My Cracked Monogram might not win any awards. But, it's mine! I did it! And when I got home, my husband and daughter had wide eyes when they saw what I had done. That's what I want for my students - to have the supplies, instruction, and encouragement and to be proud when they get their communication skills!
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