Get the brush off
It’s how you paint, not what you paint with.
FORT LAUDERDALE — Every Tuesday evening at The Wynwood Yard, artist Ami Lawson can be found leading “Painting Without Brushes,” a gathering that invites children and adults to create art with their hands, sponges or found items — anything but paintbrushes.
As part of the threehour class, which starts at 7 p.m., Lawson gives participants paint, canvases and other supplies. Once the class settles in, Lawson tells participants to forget their plans and expectations, to get up and look around for inspiration around the Yard. A nearby flower, an overheard conversation, a snack, a drink, or some combination of these things.
When the artists return ready to create, it’s Lawson’s hope that they are further inspired and relaxed.
“I give everybody a container with water and a sponge,” she said. “You have to take the sponge and put it in the water. That’s it. The second their finger gets wet, there’s this sensation. You’re a kid again.”
Lawson isn’t in a rush — intentionally. To her, the artistic process is the most important part, not the final creation.
“Art is the first thing we do. It’s the first thing kids do. Art is easy. Kids want to do art. It’s a language that every single one of us knows.
“All art is, is a language,” Lawson added. “It’s my goal to get people to come together, to build community.”
An hour into the class, painters are instructed to get up, break from their work and wash their hands. After seeing what other students are painting, Lawson hopes to get students to mingle and interact more.
“Then they start talking to each other and helping each other … ‘I love this!’ … ‘How did you do that?’ … Then you start seeing a community. Just through painting.”