FALL MASON JAR WORKSHOP – OCT 1: Warm up your cool fall night with lovely light Embarcadero YMCA
For those of you who have been wanting to join us this is a public event, free for Y-members or a $15 drop-in!
We’ve been having loads of fun making these! This is limited to 12 participants. Sign-up is required at the front door 30 mins prior to the start of the event! See you then!
Ann and I decided to work on Pinterest DIY workshops this week! We each picked one and tried to make them. Some, more successful than others but it’s the trying that counts! Hope you’re practicing your creativity and connecting with others!
Do you have ten minutes? Chances are you do. We’ve been thinking a lot about how we spend our time and we decided last night that for this week’s challenge we’re giving ourselves ten whole minutes a day to sit down and sketch – visual journal. The subject is irrelevant we just hope to take ten minutes a day to give back to our creative practice. @annzilla and I both have projects that we barely got to touch this week because we gave our time (happily) to other causes but it left very little time for our inner artist. Let’s see how this goes! #weeklychallenge #artist #practicecreativity
Love and big hugs!
Wynne & Ann
Happy August! Hope you guys are enjoying the Summer in San Francisco. I took that picture last week at the Marin Headlands. More about that later in this update!
This month, Ann realized through exploring various creative avenues, the importance of being kind and compassionate towards our inner artist. Meaning to accept that not everyday will be a super creative one. Some days we are more creative and productive than others, but it’s all about being compassionate towards ourselves, letting ourselves rest when we need to and being thankful for the days when creativity is higher. Forcing ourselves to be creative on low days and beating ourselves up does nothing to enhance creativity. Instead, taking time to thank ourselves for showing up and putting something on the paper. That’s all that matters anyway!
Here are some beautiful explorations from Ann
As for me, I’ve been spending an abundance of time crafting and sewing as I found solace and creativity through those avenues. Making and being creative can be done in many ways, so learning to explore outside of traditional ways of making fosters creativity. It’s all about what works for you. I’ve tried so many avenues the past six months. Crayons, watercolor, finger painting, acrylics, collage, ceramics and the list goes on. I found a few techniques that I really enjoy, so I’m continuing down those avenues. Again it’s about the process and less about the outcome. If anyone would have told me that I’d be sewing every night and learning how to hand sew through YouTube I’d probably laugh my head off. But here I am, learning the basics for sewing and crafting, eating popcorn and listening to Norah Jones. Not for everyone but for me, this works!
Some pics from my sewing adventures
https://instagram.com/p/52yJptwcEh/
Here’s what we got up to this month! If we ever have a newsletter I think it’ll be as long as the Wall of China. But here are some of our favorite moments from July.
We finally launched our first workshop: Summer Watercolor 101 (insert high-fives here)! We were a bit hesitant to do this at first, because our hope is to have everyone enjoy everything during our event, but upon running two of these events in July, we realize how people really enjoyed a focus on a medium. Here are our goals for “Summer Watercolr 101 – Workshop”
1. Learn – Learn the basics of watercolor 101
2. Make – Create a watercolor piece to take home!
3. Connect – Connect with others through being creative! We are here to help and guide your explorations
Pics from workshop at AOL:
As part of our practice in creativity, we decided to give each other weekly creative challenges. We’ve been alternating challenges each week, usually on Monday mornings, so we have the week to work on it whenever we can. I’ve been surprised by the outcomes of this because in between all of our usual outlets for creativity, we don’t have that practice to try something new or to explore. It’s a reminder to me that being creative is always about the process and for us as artists, to develop the right habits. Here are some pics from our weekly challenges in July:
I heard about the Open House for the Headlands Center for the Arts from a friend Irena. It was a great opportunity to get some fresh air outdoors, disconnect (literally disconnect as there is no reception there) and connect with local and international artists. My mom was in town so we got to visit together!
https://instagram.com/p/5u834ywcMp/
I’m super into crafting and Ann needed to do holiday shopping for her hubby, so of course I dragged Ann to the Renegade Craft Fair @ Fort Mason! So many vendors, so much creativity in the West Coast!
We’ve got two new workshops that we’re working on, so stay tuned! Before we start a new workshop, we have to physically try out every activity to make sure they work, are fun and allows people a creative avenue to explore.
We’re very excited for the en plein air workshop, which will be the first time we take a group outdoors. Stay tuned and have a great August!
For those of you who’d like to join an event our next upcoming public event is at the YMCA Embacaradero. If you’d like us to host an event at your office, please contact us at : sipandsketchme@gmail.com
Please follow us on Instagram and Facebook! We hope you find some time to explore, try something new. If you’d like to take part in our weekly challenges feel free to post your challenge on our Facebook page!
Wynne & Ann
A few weeks ago I signed up as a volunteer for the year end art making event held by Kids and Art Org, a non-profit organization that connects families with children with cancer and the arts.
Our mission is to team-up kids and families who have been touched by cancer with local Artists. Together they create art which is later auctioned. The proceeds from these auctions go back in the program and to other cancer charities. -Purvi Shah (Kids and Art Org)
The event was held at the Google campus in Mountain View, and saying that I’m thankful for the experience is just a smidgen of the immense amount of creativity and passion that was felt that day. I met so many artists and volunteers that day and watched as dozen of kids spent the afternoon making art and sharing with others. If you ever get an opportunity to give back in San Francisco, this is an amazing opportunity to make, give back and to make a difference.
– Wynne
We hosted another session of Sip and Sketch at the YMCA Embarcadero tonight, photos all courtesy Ann Liao!
Thanks for coming out to practice creativity and connect with each other! We hope that Sip and Sketch will light up a little fire inside of you, so that you can find time to be creative and nourish your inner artist.
At the end of the evening, we all got to take one of Ann’s papier-mache sculptures home 🙂
– Ann & Wynne
Over the past two weeks, Wynne and I have been preparing for up-coming Sip & Sketch Events. With limited budget, workspace and time, creativity did not falter, but sparked even more! It made us think of creative ways beyond those boundaries. Throughout the process, I’ve rediscovered the joy of crafting and I wanted to share some thoughts to inspire all of you to take part in the act of making, an activity that is both therapeutic and fun.
This point can simply be summarized into one word: Pinterest. However, I want elaborate more on that because while Pinterest is great for all kinds of DIY ideas, it can get overwhelming sometimes. For city dwellers especially, there are workspace limitations that makes it difficult to achieve big DIY projects. But that shouldn’t stop you! Scale down to materials that’s more accessible and flexible for your workspace. Check your pantry and junk pile, what do you have there? Use up what you already have, make do, be resourceful. This is where the mind works in wonderful ways to observe, strategize and come up with crazy ideas. 
In our case, we knew we wanted some floral decor for our events. We also knew we can’t splurge to purchase a bouquet each time considering there’s other supplies to buy. So we decided on making fabric flowers so that we can re-use them without worrying being scrunched up on commutes. Using a thrifted pink dress, a silky PJ bottom and some dollar store sewing materials, you can achieve the likeness of a real flower. 
Tip: Goodwill always has 50% off on selective pieces if you’re lucky to find them, which is what I did and it will save you a few bucks. We found that the best DIY guides are the ones that provide a video and detailed blog post reference like such: Fabric Roses & Peony Flowers
“I’d love to do that but I really don’t have time for it” is what you might be thinking. It’s an honest point, time is a limited resource not many of us have these days. But we’d love to encourage you and let you know that art shouldn’t be a sacrifice, it’s a compromise. It is a part of your day, it’s the extra step you’d take to make bacon and eggs instead of a cereal bowl because you know it’s good for your body as art is good for your mind and soul. It can be something you do while binge watching the last season of Game of Thrones. It can be something you do while you wait for the cupcakes to finish. Taking 5 minutes here and there is a great start to add art into your life. 
For this week, I challenged both of us to make papier-mâchés. Even though it’s a very time consuming process, it cost us almost nothing to make! We used everything in the recycling bin: tissue paper boxes, old newsprints drawings, cardboard from Amazon orders and last year’s magazines. We put on our favourite podcast or playlist and took the time to explore. Here’s the benefit, when you move your hands, you’re also exercising your mind to release and de-stress. When you take the time, you are exercising your creative power to connect with how you feel at the moment. Each move you make frames your vision for the art piece, and that’s pretty impressive. The creativity developed here cannot be achieve through a purchase transaction of an already polished object on the shelves. 
Tip: Did you know a simple cornstarch mixture works just as well as store bought glue? Plus it is cheap to make and kidproof. Here’s a great recipe to try out!
Once you start making, your views of the world will start to change. The same idea as knowing your farmer, knowing where your food comes from and how it’s made. The more we made things, the more we appreciated life itself. While exploring in the land of fabrics, Wynne found meditation and ways to repurpose old fabrics into a new creations. Of course, there’s a lot of trial and error, the entire process of cutting, sewing, fixing, re-doing made her appreciate the final piece 10 times more. Meanwhile, crafting has given me new appreciation for nature’s designs. I’m learning new details like a cabbage peony versus a lotus peony. Knowing these subtle differences makes me a better observer, a better maker, a better painter.
So we see how creativity can spark brightly even with limited budget, time and space. It’s not perfect, but it’s a great conversation starter. It gets people to discuss and share the act of making, it’s a great way to connect with others, something we emphasize greatly here at Sip & Sketch.
So please, PINTEREST THE SH*T OUT OF EVERYTHING and have a blast! Share your stories with us @Sipandsketchme on Instagram or Twitter. We would love to see what you’ve created!
Cheers!
Ann
People often ask why I run Sip and Sketch. It’s because my lifelong dream is to open an art studio for kids. I hope that one day, when I’m in my senior years, I’ll be surrounded by creative people. Running these events creates a space to learn how it can be like; kind of like a trial run. A mini-prototype to see how it works.
Through these events, I met many people who share a similar passion for creativity, and I know that if I weren’t at that space seeking out that specific thing; we would have never met. I have made, sewn, drawn, painted, glued, mixed, washed, smudged more than I have in the last eight years, because suddenly I have to practice and make all the activities that we share with the group. Something that I had no purpose for in the past. I realized that making something tangible with my hands brings tremendous amounts of joy.
Right now, Ann and I are applying both structured and non-structured techniques in our teaching, but the goal is always the same. We’re making art with people in hope of promoting a practice of creativity. We hope that people realize how much joy the arts can bring, and hopefully take these simple techniques with them, so they can practice at home.
Here’s a new technique that we’re gonna try out at our next event :)!
Happy Pride #lovewins, see you soon!
Wynne
This week we’re drawing with our non-dominant hand. And yes, I am sitting in my kitchen. Living in San Francisco is like learning to live in a tiny house sometimes (just kidding)! Making can be done anywhere, as long as you have that designated space to make, it doesn’t matter where it is.
Supplies:
A huge part of what intrigues us with creativity is the surprise factor. When we draw with our non-dominant hands, we liberate ourselves to create in surprising ways. Using the non-dominant hand is very useful as a warm-up before going deep into concentration mode in art-making.
Have fun and let us know how it goes!
Wynne & Ann
Hi Guys, it’s been a few months since Sip & Sketch started and I really want to share some highlights with you guys!
1. Every person’s dream when starting something new has finally happened. I found someone! As of last week Ann Liao and I decided to partner up in our mission and journey to share the arts with the peeps in San Francisco. Ann is a very talented artist and designer from Toronto, and of course because of synchronicity we meet here in the middle of nowhere AND share the exact the same dream! No, the truth is that her husband and I work together, but still, what a coincidence! We’re so excited, it’s been so much nicer having someone to bounce ideas off of and to continually ask, “Is this crazy?! What I’m doing? Because I’m about to do it”, and the answer is always, “Yeah! Just do it!”, and “Yo! Do you have old magazines? I want to try to make some paper flowers, so you know we won’t have to buy them!” So, you’ll notice some of our branding start to change in the next little bit! You can learn more about Ann on her website www.annliao.com!
2. Something is in-the-works with the YMCA and we’ll soon be making an official announcement about our partnership with them! We’re so excited for that, so fingers crossed and stay-tuned! Here’a video from our last event, hurray to iMovie. Photos courtesy of Ann!
3. We are still very non-profit, which gets us into these very “creative situations”. For example, there is a lot you can do with old newspapers. I also found myself now afraid to throw anything away? I keep everything incase we need it, haha! But all jokes aside, holding these art events are all still a learning experience for us, so it’s totally worth it! We have a lot of freedom in terms of planning our activities and this is where we can really apply what we’re good at, which is our artistic abilities. We’re taking these opportunities to understand and learn about being art facilitators – wooo! That being said, we take a lot of care and time to organize each event because we understand that people really want to come to a comfortable place to practice creativity! We’ve been doing it with a tight budget but it lets us get pretty “creative” with things!
4. I did something spontaneous and pitched at Creative Mornings SF, to share the arts with others. Thank you for the opportunity Stewart! It was both a terrifying and rewarding experience, but now that I’ve done it once I feel like I can do it again, and again and again… The best part of it was sharing the moment with other “pitchers”, and knowing that everyone else is just as terrified minutes before speaking.
Here’s me, terrified
5. I started this habit of interviewing artists in the Bay area. This month, I had a Skype date with two artists: Ray Beldner, a conceptual artist based out of San Francisco who’s piece is at the DeYoung and Karen Olsen-Dunn, a painter, who’s paintings beautifully captivates the essence of digital and visual arts. I cannot explain how inspiring it’s been to hear words of encouragement from them and sage advice on how to continue to foster the arts in San Francisco. There was never a hesitation or did any of them ask why I was doing this. When asked why they agreed to do the interview, they actually both responded with “why not?!” and then went on to explain how important it is for artists to help other artists, no matter their situation. Thank you, for taking the time to chat with me!
See you soon!
Wynne
