I Created with Kelly Gau Studio

Last year about this time, I met up with some of the North Iowa Bloggers for one of those wine and painting parties…I’m a terrible painter!  Then, I tried my hand at making my own Christmas wreath and was so in love with

the results that I ended up leaving it hanging on my house until the very end of February!   So, up until this point I had faired a solid 50/50 on my DIY events/projects, so it was all up in the air when I went to the West Fork Wharf in Sheffield the other night to create a mixed media item with Kelly Gau Studio!  I knew that regardless of what my piece of art looked like, I would have a great time because I was with my dear friends (Alicia of Pork Diaries, Laura of Life On Sky View Farms, Val of Corn, Beans, Pigs, & Kids, and Donna of donnahup.com)!

The good news about this adventure is that I’m a much better at working with mixed mediums than I am strictly painting!  Am I going to make a career out of it?  Doubtful!  However, with the help and direction (and a lot of patience) creating my piece of art with Kelly, was a piece of cake!

Kelly, who’s studio is actually located in Albert Lea, Minnesota, came down to North Iowa for the evening and I’m so glad she did!  Not only did she bring all the supplies with her, she also brought a helper, Caroline!  So, set-up, tear down, etc was all a breeze and if we needed something one of the two of them were close by!  My night was filled with paint, paper, modge podge, creating, and laughing.  Kelly gives fantastic direction (albeit a bit vague sometimes, but that was by design and I saw that all come together throughout the evening) and is incredibly patient with someone like myself who is very straightforward and neurotic!  It took me quite awhile to get comfortable with the idea of not having strict instructions and I “maybe” got there by the end of the evening (even though everyone around me…and probably Kelly, would probably argue that I did not!).

Picking through her endless paper selections in which to create our works of art and the trunk of paint colors (literally, an old suitcase trunk of paint…so cool) was therapeutic and helped me to allow my creative juices to flow!  She also provided two different examples and we were to pick one direction to go.  After that, it was basically up to us how it turned out!  How fun…it really made me think and question (and doubt)!  However, at the end of the evening, I was pretty pleased with my artwork and it will be hanging in our bedroom for some time to come!

Thanks to Kelly and Caroline for making the trek down to Sheffield for a fantastic evening.  Thank you also to the West Fork Wharf staff who opened just for this event (they are normally closed on Monday evenings)!  They have amazing service and terrific food!  If you haven’t been, you really should!  And, if you can, making the trip to Albert Lea and create something with Kelly Gau, you won’t regret it!

I was provided compensation to write a review of my experience with Kelly Gau Studio.  All thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.  See the “Disclosure Tab” for full details!