Hidden Messages

In-Person 2-Day Workshop

TURN YOUR PASSION INTO POWER!

EXPAND YOUR ART-MAKING EXPERIENCE AND CREATE A LASTING IMPACT WITH YOUR PAINTING!

We have an opportunity to have a live, in-person, two-day painting workshop in the studio. Our goal is to HELP UKRAINE, and we invite you to participate!

This workshop will be special not only because it is our first live workshop since 2020, but also because it will be a multimedia experience.

We will look at how hidden messages have been used in art from prehistoric times, in the grandiose creations of the Great Masters, in Abstract Expressionism in the US, in the Soviet-style propaganda, and in the anti-war protests today.

In this workshop, you will:

– Brainstorm the meaning of words, translate them into Russian, using Google Translate
– Build complex surfaces with found items on canvas
– Meet a local Ukrainian artist who will share about her process of creating meaningful art
– Connect with a brave young artist in Russia via Skype to see how she fights the war in Ukraine using hidden messages in art as her secret weapon
– Create artworks, using paint and photo transfer to make a statement about the war in Ukraine.

To conclude the workshop, we will gather for a discussion of this eye-opening experience while enjoying famous Ukrainian borsh with a creative group of new, like-minded friends.     

It is easy to become numb and think that the war in Ukraine is “old news”, but for Ukraine, it is still current and relevant. We want to do what we can. We invite everyone who wants to contribute regardless of your artistic experience or your current or prior affiliation with our school! If you are interested, you are qualified. This workshop will help you create a great piece of art even if you are a beginner. As a seasoned artist, you will enjoy making a painting in just two days under the expert guidance of Ms. Losina. 

As you may know, Olya Losina, the founder of Prima Materia, is Russian. But what you probably don’t know is that a part of Olya’s family comes from Ukraine: her maternal grandmother Irina was born in the Ukrainian city of Luhansk. There she spent her youth; she spoke Ukrainian fluently; all her life she loved Ukrainian songs and Ukrainian poetry, and she passed on her love for that country to her grandchildren. Today Luhansk is occupied by Russian aggressors, who are trying to annex it from Ukraine. Art can change lives and transform the world. Artists can make a difference, and it is our mission to add our efforts to the massive amount of donations going to Ukraine, to save its people.     

“Many of my students or their family members have ancestral ties with Ukraine”, said Olya, “but regardless of personal connections, everyone I’ve been talking with, cares deeply about Ukrainian people, their freedom and independence, and want to help in any way possible. I decided to create this workshop as a major, one of a kind event, to enable those who want to help Ukraine, to do it through art”.