Last weekend, I had the honor of putting together a Paint & Sip class for a ladies’ retreat for my church, First Pentecostal Church of Jackson (Mississippi). Seventy ladies attended!
The theme was “Bloom Where You are Planted.” I found free adult coloring pages online and selected three—a simple design of poppies, a little more complicated design of tulips, and a challenging design of a watering can surrounded by blooms.
Using graphite paper, I traced each design onto 12 canvases for a total of 36 canvases. I brought along extra, blank canvases for additional tracing or for that free spirit who might want to design her own artwork. I was surprised that the complicated watering can was the most popular design, and I had to trace it two more times.
At home, I’d painted a canvas of each design to use as examples, noting the time it took to paint each one to make sure it would work for the two hour class.
The only hesitation I had for leading a class (with the help of two other artists) was the timing of it. Our fun and fellowship, which included the option of “Garden Games” and “Bloomin’ Bingo,” followed our dinner and inspirational gathering; it began at 9:30 pm and ended two hours later!
I did have a group of early birds, who chose not to freshen up nor visit the late-night charcuterie before making their way to the Sip & Paint. Like me, these ladies wanted to find their beds as early as possible!
We provided each participant with a pallet of red, blue, yellow, green, and white paint, a cup of water, paper towels, a disposable plastic apron, a small easel, an 8×10 stretched canvas, and paint brushes in a variety of sizes.
Some ladies had experience with painting with acrylics and needed very little attention.
Others needed help getting started or with mixing colors.
I believe that everyone had a great time, sipping ice-cold bloom-themed Poppi® drinks and chatting with friends as they lost themselves in the joy of creating.
In fact, I was in motion pretty much the entire time and only got these few pictures at the very beginning and the very end. The jolly crowd came and went in between. 🙂
It was a lovely experience, and I feel inspired to offer it again. Maybe next time, I’ll do a painting party at home and ask Hubby to create a charcuterie spread, his newest hobby!
