A little Flirting works wonders
I’m happy to be able to announce the return of Flirting with the Arts. The inaugural version of this artist-led offering happened exactly three years ago today, a week after Groundhog Day, and just before Valentine’s 2014.
Flirting with the Arts 2017 will take place on Saturday, April 8.
The prime mover, then and now, is Kitchener artist Meg Leslie. The Flirt project is rooted in her passions for “community art, teaching workshops and sharing her creative spirit with others.”
The aim, in Leslie’s own words, is “to engage people in the creative process, help people find their passions, encourage them to try new things, to explore, to play.”
The basic format is “like speed dating, but with the arts.” Participants design their own itinerary by choosing six out of a selection of nine half-hour workshops led by artists from a wide range of disciplines.
The workshops are “make and take”: you leave with something you create in each of the sessions you sign up for.
The facilitators were chosen not only for their knowledge and skill in their particular crafts, but also for their capacity as “kind and helpful instructors.”
Knowing that it takes a measure of courage for a novice to engage in this kind of creativity, Meg Leslie has taken steps to make sure that those who sign up are in good hands. The roster of options for Flirting with the Arts 2017 includes:
Fearless Portraiture, facilitated by Kathryn Kaiser, “an interior designer and artist who sketches, paints and creates in her Coldwater, Ont., studio,” east of Midland. Take home: your own self-portrait.
Mixed Media Collage, with Patti Agapi, “a multimedia artist based in Orillia.” Take home: a six-inch by six-inch mixed media work.
Acrylic Landscapes, with James Nye, Kitchener-based visual artist who specializes in landscapes. Take home: a completed eight-inch by 10-inch canvas featuring a dynamic landscape painting created in the moment.
Beginner Ukulele, with Jo Jo Worthington, an award-winning experimental-folk musician from Waterloo Region. Take home: a workbook with sheet music.
Silk Screen Print Workshop, led by Kingi Carpenter, designer/owner Pink Berserk, Toronto. Take home: any item(s) you bring (e.g. T-shirt, tea towel, pillow case) with a fabulous new print on it.
Intro to Needle Felting, facilitated by Agnes Niewiadomski, local maker, artist, entrepreneur, founder Mindful Makers. Take home: a needle felted and bead embellished heart-shaped brooch.
Beadworks, with Abeer Al Hariri, originally from Syria, has taught animation and illustration. Take home: an elegant bead-worked necklace, earrings or bracelet.
Graffiti Lettering, with Ean Kools, “pop surrealist artist based in Hespeler ... influenced by street art.” Take Home: a fully rendered graffiti piece on card stock, and a new insight into what the walls are saying.
The first Flirt was successful in every way: Tickets sold out, there was in incredible buzz in the room throughout the day, and everyone went home satisfied. The message Meg Leslie heard over and over again was “please do that again!”
For various reasons, it hasn’t happened again, although there have been modified Flirting with the Arts events.
The 2017 edition was first planned as a February event and retains some of the original Valentine’s flavour: There’s the flirting and the dating, the emphasis on passion, and on courage, which means, literally, “heart.”
Admission to “a daylong marathon of creativity” would be a great Valentine’s gift for someone dear or for yourself.