Making Mixed Media Sculpture at the SCC

Typically, when I facilitate a workshop there is some structure. There is an example of what we are going to make. There are pre made parts.  There are steps to the process that I go through (one by one)…. There is an end goal.

But, this time, at the Saskatchewan Craft Council’s Mixed Media Sculpture Workshop, which was held in conjunction with the Broadway Street Festival on September 6, there was none of that.

When people entered the Affinity Gallery and approached the table, they were invited to create whatever they liked.  I would list all the fun materials they could play with (beads, wire, yarn, feathers, etc.), and I would list some potential possibilities (jewellery, architectural sculptures, wall hangings, etc.).  But, in the end people were encourage to “just create.”

And what a success that was.  People did just that.  They created.

Perhaps it was the inspirational artwork in the gallery, or the excitement of the festival, or maybe it was just people’s inherent creative nature that came through, but I didn’t hear once (out of approximately 120 participants) “I don’t know what to make.”

Considering that creativity is one of the ‘tag lines’ of Culture Days (“Create, Participate, & Celebrate”) I think more credence needs to be given to this type of ‘creation.’  True, it’s comfortable to go to a workshop where there is structure and an expected end result.  But, it is also extremely important to “Create for Creation’s Sake.”  It’s important to trust the process of uninhibited creativity.  Some of the most important inventions have come out of this kind of play and experimentation.  So I was happy to see us engage in and practice this type of creativity.