Ghali (front centre) together with participants of a recent workshop outside their meeting point.
KUCHING: Ghali Foster started holding her outdoor art workshops at last year’s What About Kuching (WAK) programme, emerging periodically through the year with more sessions when she had free time.
There were only two ‘Paint and Petals’ workshops this year at WAK 2018 but they were well-received, with both sessions fully booked. Speaking to thesundaypost, Ghali said that her aim was to make art fun for teens and adults, with an outdoor stroll to seek flowers as subjects.
“I remember art class in high school was neither lighthearted nor relaxed. We put so much emphasis on learning art theory than working on developing our skills,” she said.
“People tend to see less value in art once it is no longer a required part of their syllabus. I want to change that, as art is meant for you to have fun with,” said Ghali, who is a graphic designer.
Participants show their floral artwork to each other after they had a chance to explore their styles.
Paint and Petals takes participants on a stroll around town as they learn a couple of sketch techniques, like playing with gouche paints and drawing with a brush pen. People who join tend to be looking for something different to do.
“Some say they have not walked around the old shophouses in town for a long time. Generally, they tell me they had fun as they get a chance to be artsy,” said Ghali, who sketches and does modern abstract art. She cited her maternal grandfather as an influence, who did Chinese calligraphy back in China.
“I never met him before, but in a way, it’s me connecting with him through art.” As a festival, WAK offered an opportunity for Ghali to experience a broad range of art other than her own.
“What is most important to me is that I get to connect with people and build relationship with everyone, both like-minded and not, which is a good thing.”
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