An Lanntair: Creative Connections
Creative Connections provides workshops and creative projects for isolated older people in the Western Isles with the aim of reducing loneliness, improving health and wellbeing, and increasing opportunities for people to be creative. The following workshops are available for organisations in Lewis and Harris who support older people. You can book a workshops for an existing group at a time and venue to suit your needs. Contact mark@anlanntair.com to book or for more information.
Screenprinting Tote-bags
with Elaine Smith
This workshop will guide participants through designing, cutting a stencil and printing their own cotton tote bag in 4 x 1hr workshops. The first session will include an introduction to screenprinting and a demo, then each person will begin drawing their design onto vinyl paper (pre-printed designs can also be transferred using carbon paper). In the following weeks the group will design and cut stencils and print the designs onto tote-bags. In the final session, additional details can be added using stencils and textile pens. The designs will be heat-set using an iron.
Accessibility: Each person will be assisted at each stage. Premade stencils and textile pens can be used as an alternative to drawing and cutting stencils. Everyone will be assisted individually at the printing stage with the help of hinge-clamps on board to steady the screen.
Basic Printmaking
with Gill Thompson
The series of 4 workshops will cover simple mono-printing using gelatine plates/ acrylic paints, tetrapak printing with water soluble markers, polystyrene printing and printing with stamps. Through these accessible printmaking activities, participants will be able to make artworks for the wall or to make cards, bookmarks, gift tags etc.
Sessions will be I hour in length and activities will be flexible to match the participants’ abilities.
Making Self-Portraits with a Large Format Camera
with Mark Jones and Danielle Macleod
Participants will be supported to make a number of analogue portraits and explore traditional darkroom methods for printing an image. Mark and Danielle will guide you through the process of portrait lighting and composition as well as how to develop your photographs. Each participant will get to take home a portrait.
This course is suitable for all although if you are an experienced photographer there will still be much to learn.
Large Scale Expressive Paintings
with Sandra Kennedy
This is a fun and exhilarating series of sessions exploring the joys of paint, colour, pattern and mark making while increasing confidence through making something large scale. Depending on the constraints of the venue, the group will be supported to make large scale wall or floor paintings using mops or brushes attached to sticks, or drawings using charcoal and coloured pastels. In the first session, Sandra will provide inspiration and discussion by introducing a slide show of large abstract paintings. The following sessions will include making studies experimenting with textures and pattern and mark making, before moving on to large scale painting. This could be a group collaboration, or each person can make their own.
