Watercolour Workshop in Pinar del Río (2006).On April 5th, Ruth Wilton, Eliza Schurman, Jude Caborn and Laird Wilton left for Cuba to present a watercolour workshop in Pinar del Río. The watercolour workshop was presented as part of a Cultural Exchange between the Galería Arturo Regueiro and the NSCUBA Artists Collective. It is the second event of an on going relationship, which we hope will last for many years.
The Three Artists, and their assistant, have returned, sad to leave, but with many interesting stories to tell.
General Overview of Workshop
After some complications with the initial arrangements, the expected Cuban transportation problems, and a little help from the gallery staff, we were able to get underway on Monday morning, a little late, but we were greeted with warmth and enthusiasm…. and several more artists than expected! Our 15 had multiplied to 21! Most were professional artists and teachers of art, some of whom we had met last year. The age range was 20 to 60+. Apparently, others had been turned away.
After a brief introduction and presentations we got underway.
The classrooms, which were small, were soon found to be unsuitable, and after the first morning we decided to move everything into the gallery and conduct classes there. This was an improvement as we could all work together in the same room. In spite of street noise at an unbelievable level which we had to shout above, and a resounding echo due to the high ceiling and large space, we were able to continue.
The whole group was abuzz with excitement and it was a little like “herding cats” to get everyone in the same place at the same time for demonstrations and instruction. We had the help of a handsome young man, Osiel, as our translator. Things settled down a little by the second morning, but more people showed up, so we had to hustle up more brushes and paint and palettes.
By the end of the second day, the “students” had produced many good watercolours based on a still life subject.
On the third day more students turned up, supposed only to observe, but soon was totally involved. We had to put our foot down before anyone else showed up! The final count was now 25. The artists were quite involved with the new techniques they were learning and now were able to combine some of their own creativity in the works they were producing.
On Wednesday afternoon at the end of the day, we had the official signing of the Exchange agreement, filmed for TV, and also videotaped for us by a friend.
The rest of the week was well spent with Jude and Eliza doing constructive critiques, more creative techniques, resulting in more excellent work being produced. The last day students were asked to evaluate the course, based on what they learned, whether they will continue to use these techniques, and if they could suggest improvements to the course. Friday afternoon ended with a reception with lots of food and rum and music.
Aside from the success of the workshop from a teaching point of view, the entire time was filled with the warmth and friendship Cubans are famous for. We were treated like old friends, presented with various gifts from handmade jewelry, paintings, rum and a poem. They made every effort to show us how much they appreciated our bringing the workshop to Pinar del Río. It was a privilege to have met and worked with so many kind and generous people.
On reviewing the the evaluation sheets with my limited Spanish, the group seemed to agree on several things..
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1.The most important thing they learned was not to be afraid of watercolour. (It is viewed as a very difficult medium by most artists)
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2.Most will continue to work in the medium and incorporate some of the techniques in their work.
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3.The only suggested improvement for the course was that it could be longer.
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4.There were many positive comments on the professionalism of the teachers and the interesting content of the workshop. One artist said it was the best workshop he had attended in his entire career as an artist.
We were also urged to return with another workshop as soon as possible.
Jude, who was making her first visit to Cuba, offered these comments about the art produced in the workshop. “I certainly found the quality astounding! In all my years teaching watercolor I have never found such a high success rate coming from the oil and acrylic painters. They normally have a harder time. Another thing I discovered was the difference in subject matter. Most of our artists tend to paint 'pretty pictures' from life around them, whereas the art I saw in galleries tended to be more symbolic or abstractions of their life. AND SO MUCH ART!!!!!!”
Eliza’s Reflections:
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The Cuban workshop experience was a true Cultural Exchange. We were late the first day because of car trouble. Surprise! We had to change plans for the location of the classes and talk above street noise all of the time.
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The passion and energy of the Cuban artists carried us through. The group of 15 plus artists grew to be 25 enthusiastic professionals who were all eager to learn. They responded to the new medium of watercolour and new ideas with openness and appreciation.
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I have never been in a class more skilled or willing to learn. The display of their final 2 favorite paintings the last day was worthy of a gallery showing. I was honoured to have been a part of this experience and will be delighted to further my involvement with the artistic and educational community in Cuba.
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(Eliza has plans to return to Cuba in September to conduct a 5 day workshop on the Tatamagouche Model of Experiential Learning at the University of Pinar del Río and also has been asked to exhibit her art in the University Art Gallery during that visit.)
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Eliza Schurman
I have to thank my fellow artists, Jude Caborn and Eliza Schurman for making the workshop such a success. Their planning and teaching skills and experience were the main factor for the success in the classroom. We all had a wonderful experience.
Ruth Wilton
