Art Workshops with Taryn Lee: September and October Workshops

Tuesday September 15th 12 - 2 PM

THE ART OF TRANSFORMATION: An Abstract Oil Pastel & Collaborative Collage Workshop

In this 2 hour, in-person art workshop, you’ll learn how to use oil pastels to create vivid and bold abstract, expressive artworks. Oil pastels are busting with pigment. They easily blend, build and smudge together. They have a buttery texture and are wonderful for expressive art making. We will create individual, expressive artworks.

Participants will then cut their art in half to share with the group. These “halves” will be collected for collaborative collages. Through cutting up our artworks — it shifts the focus from perfection and towards experimentation, process and connection. Participants will discover composition and rearranging through collage. They will also experience collaborative creativity by exchanging pieces of artwork. You’ll leave transformed with one or two mixed-media pieces.

Tuesday October 20th 12 PM - 2 PM

THE MAD HATTERS WORKSHOP: Where Imagination Goes to Your Head!

In this 2 hour, in-person art workshop, step into the world of wild and fantastical hat ideas then turn them into wearable reality! We will transform an everyday material — paper, into an extraordinary wearable sculpture. We will spend some time sketching potential ideas. Then we will take one of those ideas from 2D sketch and figure out how to shape it into a 3D object. Go big, go wild, go strange - these don’t have to be your typical 9-5 hats!

Participants will measure their heads to create a hat band. This simple band will be used as the foundation for any design you can dream up. We will build, shape, cut, fold, twist, and glue various types of papers into fabulous, expressive hats or headpieces.

The late Isabella Blow, British magazine editor, style influencer and muse stated“A hat is like an exclamation mark to your outfit”. You’ll leave the workshop with awearable sculpture completely and uniquely yours!

This workshop is useful for:

- Well-being

- Engaging in the present moment

- Exploring creative experimentation

- Connecting in a communal space

- Thinking in visuals to aid storytelling through art

All required materials will be provided by CAMH on the day of the workshop.

Pre-registration is required as space is limited per group.

Open to all, no prior art experience necessary.

About the artist and facilitator, Taryn Lee:

Taryn Lee (she/her) is a neurodivergent artist and educator with lived experience from Oakville, Ontario. She has a Bachelor of Design from Toronto Metropolitan University in Fashion Communication. Her own art practice focuses on colourful, representational figurative works, portraits and stylized fashion sketches using mixed medias. She’s had experience teaching art to youth in a classroom setting and teaching online art courses with Workman Arts. She is a Fellow of the CAMH Yale Let(s) Lead program and a longtime Workman Arts member. She’s completed CAMHs Collaborative Learning College peer support and facilitation training courses and peer support training with the Mood Disorders Society of Canada. She is an Active Listener for Workman Arts online and in person events. She believes the act of creating art in safe and encouraging community spaces builds connections, encourages mindfulness, and ignites ideas that lead towards transformations.

*This is an in person session at 1025 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario.

Step by step directions to the PFLS with photos can be found here: camh.ca/-/media/education-files/camh-pfls-directions2024-pdf.pdf