The Art of Art Workshops: Getting Everyone Involved

My students come in prepared. They know the drill. But, workshops that aren’t well organized often lose the interests of the artists they are trying to motivate. To run a workshop successfully, you have to be ready when the students come in your door.

Sometimes as artists we get so used to doing art for ourselves that we forget how to teach it. I’ve sat in on some art workshops and watched the lesson just fall away because the artist, one of my former students, had forgotten how to express the art concept for the day’s lesson. That should never happen.

You might not have a great amount of time on your hands. But if you are running an art workshop, you should find the time to review what concept you are going to be getting across for the day. You already know the material. But, it’s in the back of your mind somewhere. All you have to do is review the material and get it all back to the forefront of your mind.

It normally takes me about five minutes to go over everything that I’m going to be introducing to a certain class. Five minutes isn’t at all hard to find. And yes, I still have to review my own material. That’s nothing to be ashamed of doing. If you don’t know those small details, you will fall flat on your face. It’s not a major thing when all you are doing is refreshing.

But, introducing a concept only takes a few minutes anyway. After that, it’s hands on experience. Other students can get involved in the learning process. You should encourage that. It gets them excited. They stay motivated. And we all learn from teaching. Even if a student of mine only understands the material a little bit, through teaching all the details come together and my students who are helping others reinforce what they have already learned.

That’s a positive force in my art workshops. Flexibility and adversity are the key. You are the facilitator who brings a new concept to the class. Then you allow your students to explore it for themselves. That’s the touch that invites participation and it never fails. My students are more prepared to deal with their students when they get the chance. They have already fielded questions. They have already been introduced to misunderstandings and they’ve had to battle their way through them in order to help others to a greater understanding. That’s a lesson in itself.

Most of my adult students look forward to the day when they can run art workshops for themselves. The act of participation drives them forward. In my classroom, the get a dry run so to speak. They get to be the student and the teacher in the same period. The more they help, the more they want to help. And the art workshop centers are exploding.

If you think you can’t handle an art workshop on your own, you should come and sit in one of mine. You’re always welcome. You’ll see how easy it is to introduce an art concept. Then, if you handle it correctly, you’ll see how easy it is to motivate students to help other students. The art produces itself. That art is the art of art workshops. Getting everyone involved is the key.