Trial Workshops

The first trial workshops are done! For a long time I have been thinking about offering workshops to share my enthusiasm with others. Of course, a lot of work goes into this. What does such a workshop look like? What is feasible? What do people want to learn? How do I do that? Also, not unimportant, do I actually enjoy giving a workshop? And above all: do the participants also enjoy it?

I have asked several people if they would like to participate in a (half)day workshop on a trial basis and if so, what they would like to learn. The responses and ideas were diverse, but two clear categories could be distinguished:

1 A completed project in one day, where you go home with a finished scene to put on display.

2 Practicing techniques, structures and colors, so that you get an idea of ​​what is possible and how to achieve certain effects. This way you can continue making your own creations at home.

To create a project suitable for beginners to make in one day, the process should be simple and straightforward. So not too ambitious… What request did I get? “I would like to make a Christmas tree with working lights.” 😶 And that question came from someone who knows how much time I can invest in projects, especially when it comes to trees. My first thought was: we shouldn't do that, it is not feasible, far too complex for beginners and cannot be done in one day. But at the same time: it is a challenge. After all, it is a test, so why wouldn't I go for a project that is too complicated? This way I can immediately discover where things can go wrong 😅. So I got started on my prototype, first the technology: how do I ensure that the lighting works? And while I'm at it, isn't lighting that changes color much more fun? Then the tree itself: I like to make very small and detailed projects, this definitely had to be larger and less detailed and at the same time produce a nice result. I chose the middle path: in addition to the technology, I would have to prepare a large part of the greenery for the participants. What I noticed while making my version was the need for a stand to hold the skeleton of the tree in place during processing and that can also be used in the oven. These standards therefore had to be created for the participants. Finally, I thought it would be fun to prepare some ornaments for the trees for the participants, that I used in my own version: some candy canes, birds and classic gingerbread men.

After several months of hard work on my own version and all the necessary preparations, the time had come, the workshop could begin! First a small presentation with examples and do's & don'ts to give your project the best chance of success and then get started! We started by making a few tufts of pine needles, so that they could experience for themselves the technique I used and how labor intensive it is to get a realistic result. Then came the first color choice: the garlands. Even though I only showed the Fimo (polymer clay) soft collection, because it is the easiest to work with, it turned out to be difficult to choose 🤭. The garland is not only decorative, it gives the greenery some extra support (after baking) and can also cover up some holes where some greenery has been forgotten. The greenery and garlands were the most technical part. Now on to the decorative part in the form of the Christmas baubels and other ornaments. After baking the tree (and an emergency repair 🤐), the lighting was installed (I took care of that part with my partner because otherwise it would take a very long time). Finally, everyone made their own tree-topper that could be placed on a light to finish it off. It was a full, but very enjoyable day!

It became apparent two days later that the workshop had been a success. I was asked if it was possible to provide another workshop, they wanted to make presents for under the Christmas tree. It was very nice to hear that they had become so enthusiastic. And presents are very suitable as a beginner project. I didn't have to do much preparation for this and it can be done in an afternoon. A good thing too, because the workshop had to happen before Christmas. So a few weeks after the first workshop we got back together and made all kinds of shapes and sizes of gifts and bows. The participants could now experience for themselves the difference between a (far too) ambitious project and a feasible project for beginners 😂. Once again the result is impressive, thanks ladies for sending the beautiful photos!

The request for the other trial workshop, aimed at practicing techniques and structures, came unexpected. A friend of mine has a very creative niece, she makes rooms from The Mouse House and might want to add homemade things to it, but she doesn't really know where to start. This made me a bit nervous, because my style is natural and realistic and I didn't expect that a young teenager would find it interesting. Was I capable of creating a nice afternoon program? My concerns were completely unfounded, she is smart, creative and very good at details. She picked up the techniques quickly and had fun doing it! She can now certainly continue with her projects at home. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to prove that anyone can create something beautiful. So even her aunt, who indicated that she was not creative herself, made two neat guinea pigs 😄

The Christmas trees are made of Fimo (polymer clay) with fiber optic wires on a color gradient LED lamp powered by 2 AAA batteries (replaceable). They are approximately 16.5 cm tall with a diameter of approximately 9.5 cm.

Developing the Christmas tree into a workable prototype took about a month (02-09-2023 to 07-10-2023). The number of hours required to prepare the materials means that this project is not suitable for a beginners course, as the costs would then run into hundreds of euros per participant.

The miniature food is not consciously made to a fixed scale. This is of course possible by calculating the final dimensions in advance. In this case the baguette has a length of 2.85 cm, which amounts to a scale of 1:20. The cheese (small cheese wheel) has a diameter of 1.7 cm and amounts to a scale of 1:12.