GR Works Sponsored Kids Art Workshop

Another hot Saturday in Los Angeles (LA) and what to do?

For all the attendees of the GR Works sponsored Kids Art Workshop at the Robert Reynolds Gallery located at the corner of 4th Street and South Spring Street it was a Saturday for art.

P.S. as an aside to this story, I wish to point out the look of pleasure on our instructor's face.  Love it!

Now normally this is something I would write about wearing my LA Art Examiner hat, but that hat limits me to writing in the third person as the professional journalist I can be.  This blog, my art blog, allows me the freedom to wax on from my first person interesting point of view about how phenomenal I thought this event was.

The workshop was advertised and invited those 8 - 18 to come and play.  I so wanted to attend.  I so was asking, "how cool would it be?"  And lo and behold, I was allowed to attend.

This event was a class act all the way.  Each person had access to their own artist drawing pencil, eraser, the big paper...the legal size, special paper for painting with water colors, paint brushes and professional grade watercolor paints.

Attendees were instructed in drawing and water color painting.  In hindsight, what made this event truly "off the charts" (and in a way something that would most likely be totally lost on a child) is that our teachers were veterans of the house of Disney.  

We were taught how to draw Mickey Mouse step by step by the animator, Glen Keane, who brought us Ariel, the Little Mermaid.  Glen is a 37-year Disney veteran.

We were taught how to draw Piglet by Bruce Smith, who is currently a director at DisneyToon Studios.

We were taught some basics of watercolor painting by Patrick Osborne, another Disney veteran, and Robert Reynolds, the gallery owner.

Plus, the art exhibited at the space from the First 10+ Art Show happening simultaneously would have been worth the trip alone. 

How much fun to spend an afternoon learning about and creating art?  It was my first time ever watercolor painting.  Apparently I am not too cool to be schooled. 

Using the instruction I received, I also came up with my own character, the cool girl.  If you look closely at her different renderings in the photo, you see I used the letter "C" and the letter "L" for her hair and the letter "O"...two of them...for the eyes.  Whatever...it tickled me.

It didn't really register until I was walking to the Metro Station to go home, how truly phenomenal of an opportunity this was to be in the midst of such veteran artists having them instruct me (and the other attendees) in drawing and painting.  This was not a case of "those who can't do, teach".  These talented beings could have chosen to be any number of other places this day.  Yet, here they were...teaching the kids.  Even if some of the kids happened to be in physical bodies of adults.

So, I hope all involved with making this event possible will consider this my formal thank you note.  Thank you.

Also, what's too cool is that GR Works has it in the works that this Kids Art Workshop (my only suggestion, perhaps change it to PLAYshop) be a monthly event.  This big kid says, "Yes.  Please."  Maybe next time I'll actually bring a kid 8 - 18 with me.  I happen to know a hand full of phenomenal children.

Many of my friends at this point would be like, "YES, Lori!  And what else is possible?  What would be better than that?"

In true LA happenings, less than two blocks from the Metro station I was stopped.  I had to wait because there was a commercial filming.  They were right in the middle of a take.  A few seconds later, "BAM!  SPLAT!"  A grand piano was dropped from a crane and smashed to smithereens on the street.

It sort of tickled me.  Made me think of little boys (I had two of my own) and how much it was pleasurable for them to make stuff and then crush it.  There were a lot of pleased looks and high-fiving after the piano was smashed.  I mean really?  How does it get better than being a guy and getting paid to wreck stuff?

Of course, perhaps when they were a kid they probably didn't dare reply, "wreck stuff!" to the question, "What would you like to do when you grow up?"  

How cool!  I am always thrilled for everyone who is getting paid to do something they love.

Truth:  What would be better than that?