Being able to relax and enjoy workshops has become a lot easier since I have been in the Handshake programs.
Before my very first masterclasses with Iris Eichenberg in February 2020, I hardly slept and was very stressed. Not knowing what to expect, and not knowing whether I would be able to deliver was terrifying.
Estela’s video workshops with Handshake 6 were quite the experience. She was a hard taskmaster (in a good way). She set us challenging exercises and it was all very fast paced. While frustrating at times, the overall experience was great. I created videos I never thought myself capable of, and realised I loved using my creativity in more ways than one.
So when I heard we would have Estela teaching us the masterclasses for HS7 I was quite excited. I knew what to expect; hard work and great learning outcomes.
Estela wanted to get the best out of us, and certainly challenged us at times to achieve that, but it was so worth it. Quick intuitive exercises followed by feedback from other participants and Estela herself, with homework as follow-up, were the general format of the sessions. I love getting feedback as well as listening to feedback of other’s work and learn a lot from it. It is something I really enjoy and miss when working alone.
Estela encouraged an intuitive way of working by giving us quick fire tasks to do. This process really suits my way of making so I enjoyed that a lot. The process and sequence of exercises lead me from a blind drawing to final unexpected works (not yet fully resolved but certainly mostly there).
She has given us a way to generate ideas for new work that could potentially go into completely new directions at any time in the future. What a gift.
Estela’s passion and enthusiasm was infectious, I would sign up for her workshops any time!!
The blind drawings… Estela choose drawing number 2, top row, second from the left for me to work with.
Task 1: Make 3-D Models from the second blind drawing in the first photo.
Task 2: Combine elements of photo 3 and 4 of task 1.
Task 3: Create texture using the same size pieces.
Task 4: Combine shapes and textures from task 2 and 3.
And some exercises with other materials based on this drawing:
Task 1: Make pieces in different materials based on your drawing.
Task 2: Make 5 rings in metal based on task 1.