DIY, Give it a Try! On the Rocks x ArtSoc Review

Words and Images by Olivia Bastin, Stylist

Throughout the academic year I’ve attended a few different workshops with the Art Society and On the Rocks. These workshops have been fun and informative and have helped me pick up new skills within the world of art and design - read on to hear all about them,

One of my favourite workshops was a collage workshop I went to with some friends. This event was held in the cosy and relaxed atmosphere of Brew Co, which allowed me to really get my creative juices flowing. Magazines were scattered across the tables with a kaleidoscopic range of images from clothes, to pot plants to text. Ripping up the magazines and gluing images down felt very cathartic. Collage is an easy medium that does not require tools and can be quite cheap. You can buy magazines from charity shops or even get free ones from some supermarkets. The theme of a collage can be as creative as you like. It could be based on holiday destinations you want to visit, or your favourite cuisines or clothes you like. The sky is the limit.

Another workshop I attended was the candle making workshop with On the Rocks. Each person who attended got to make their own individual candle. The process turned out to be more rudimentary than I was expecting. Firstly, I attached a wick to the candle it could be lit. the next step was to pick the colour of the wax. I wanted my candle wax to be a deep Saharan sunset orange! Once I’d picked the colour then I boiled the kettle, and was given some wax. I put the boiling water into a bowl. I then got the wax and colouring and put both into another bowl perched precariously on top of the bowl with the piping water. I then proceeded to stir the wax and colouring until it started melting. Once it had completely melted, I poured the mixture into the candle cup. Afterwards I poured a bit of the scent into the candle holder. Then I put a flower on top to give my candle a bit of decoration! I then waited 10 minutes until the wax had dried and the cade was fit for its primary purpose. I found the process therapeutic and not overly complicated. A lot of the process was self-explanatory however there was more of an art to it than making a collage as there were set steps I had to follow.

A workshop I was pleasantly surprised with was the air-drying clay workshop I did at the Wardlaw Museum. I think the last time I experimented with clay was when I was at primary school, so this certainly was not a skill I’d practiced for a long time. During the workshop we all made a pinch pot! We had a few tools, but I primarily used my hands to craft my pinch pot. The student teaching the workshop was very informative and took everyone through the process in a efficient and interesting way. I firstly moulded my clay into a ball. From there I created a hole inside the ball with my fingers. Once the hole was developed, I stated adding decoration to my pinch pot. What I liked the most about making a pinch pot was the fact that I did not need tools to embellish my pinch pot. With my fingers I made leaves had little balls I stuck onto my pinch pot using my bare hands. My pinch pot was floral inspired. I thought the air-dry clay was a versatile medium. What I also enjoyed about the clay was that if you did not like your pinch pot you could start again easily. As a result of this I felt it was a very fun medium which one could be very creative with. I only used a tool once to draw lines in my leaves.

I also attended a workshop with Art Society on lino-printing. Out of all the workshops I found this one the most technical and specific. Lino printing is a type of relief printing ad the concept of negative space was a new one for me. Once I decided my print would be of some autumnal leaves I used a tool to carve the design into the lino itself. The lino was easy enough to carve into. If one applied pressure the incision would be wider so the carving would look deeper. I thought the tool was versatile but it took a few carves to get used to.  Once you had carved your print then you get a tray and pick a paint you wanted to use. You then squeeze the paint into the tray. Then you get the lino and a roller and roll the paint onto the lino. Then you get the lino and place the paper on top of it with the print facing up the way. Then you press your hands on the paper or use a clean roller to roll over the print. Then you peal the paper away from the lino and you should have a lino-print! I enjoyed doing lino-printing but he process was more technical than I thought it would be.

I also went to a life-drawing class, to ease myself out of my comfort zone. I can say that I did blush a fair bit throughout the workshop although I really admired the confidence the life models had. The models did a few poses and indie music was played in the background - the workshop have a relaxed and easy-going energy. I have to say it was fun drawing the models, but I am definitely not disclosing any photos of my drawings in this article. I felt that there was a lot of creative liberty as everyone drew and did their own thing. You could use pencil or pen. The medium to draw with was relaxed and up to the artist. The lack of tools made life-drawing accessible as did the variety of mediums one could use. Overall, I think I am more partial to colour and design but I’m glad I gave it a go!

There was also a Valentine’s Day card making event for On the Rocks. This event was held in Beacon bar and the On The Rocks committee were friendly and welcoming. They had an impressive range of materials such as tissue paper, pipping, and watercolour paint, as well as beads. This workshop was very relaxed, and I could be as creative as I wanted with my cards. I would say card making is very accessible and can be cheap. The lack of tools and technical know-how means that anyone can create cards! Getting materials can also be cheap or you can invest a pretty penny into more expensive materials. Craft and art shops are always a good way of finding materials to decorate your card with. If your skill set leans towards fine art, then you can draw on your card or if you prefer design, you can try materials like images or beads or wool. I felt like there was something for everyone at the workshop which I really liked. 

Finally, I’ve saved my absolute favourite workshop till last which was watercolour painting with On the Rocks. This workshop was held at the Russacks Hotel overlooking the Scores where I was given my own painting set and brushes. With the sun’s rays beating down on the scores and beach I felt divinely inspired. The workshop was focused on landscape painting and what better view to paint than the one I saw before my eyes. Once I’d painted my beach landscape, I painted some flowers based on the cute little top I was wearing. This workshop was not guided but I liked how everyone painted a different angel of the scores so one could be fairly creative. I also got a complimentary mocktail, so the workshop felt very classy. I felt that the workshop was accessible and well- organized. Although there was an element of mixing different colours and playing around with hues the actual painting of the Scores was not too complicated. One did not need to rely on technique but could openly paint and see where the painting took them.

All of the workshops were interesting and beneficial. Some were very fun and less technical. Other were more technical and required tools. I would say that the card making, and collage workshops were ones that you could be as creative as you wished and would suit people who like colour and design. The watercolour and life drawing workshops lent themselves well to people who like drawing and are more interested in fine art. Finally, the lino-printing, candle-making and air-drying clay workshops were cathartic but required one to follow a process. I would say it has been fun attending different workshops and picking up new skills in the world of art and design.