Melissa’s workshop

Melissa Payne delivered a workshop in Surface Pattern Design, starting off by exploring the work of different artists such as William Morris, Henri Matisse, Liberty, and Oriel Kiely. She explained that some patterns could be symmetrical, or in order or all over the place, and that there was no right or wrong. It’s all about Mark Making Techniques. We started on A4 card paper using twigs and taped the petals, leaves to create textures on the paper to create shapes. They reminded us of wands! We tapped the ‘wands’ on the inks diluted with water. We also use the flowers heads and sponges to create the ‘stamp’ effect. It was interesting to learn about different patterns that can be created simply by using flowers, twigs, brushes, leaves and using what’s there on the table. One of our regulars was amazed by the effects created by using string with watercolour paint on paper – a technique she hadn’t used before. There was a ‘game’ where we drew or painted what we wanted on the paper, we each had limited time before moving on to next piece. We discussed how people felt about that. Some has said they felt they were destroying others work and boundaries but it was about accepting the art that was there and putting your stamp on it and move on. Everyone enjoyed the workshop as it was very relaxing and letting our minds go with the flow and using our imagination.