Go With The Flow Improv Painting with Gem Mahusay

Let go of your worries and join "Go With the Flow Improv Painting" for a mindful take on abstract painting.

During this session you will learn the benefits of using acrylic paint pens and how to take abstract shapes and graphic line art to a new level. Make bold strokes, or take a detailed approach. Leave it all on the canvas and find peace in the process. No painting experience required, this is all about low stress and exploration.

The focus of this class will be around the process of improvisational painting. According to IndianArtsIdeas.in improv painting is, "the act of creating on the fly, without the need for a clear plan or intended outcome. It means responding to the here and now, embracing the unanticipated, and letting the creative process unfold organically." If you have a hard time letting go of control, or maybe you get stuck in the funk of perfectionism, this is the class for you. Through the use of Posca Acrylic paint pens, we will create mess-free 6 inch paintings to take home at the end of the class.

This class is one of three workshops celebrating Pride Month at ARCH! Take two or more of them and you’ll win an ARCH tote with colorful, surprise art supplies inside! Check out the other two classes:

Queer Surrealist Collage Zines with Sean Owens

Rainbow Book Binding with Nathaniel J. Bice

Finally, please join us for FREE Pride crafts on Pink Saturday (June 28) from 12-4pm! You’ll have the opportunity to create your own custom pronoun button and to make a rainbow twirler to bring to the Pride Parade the next day.

Gem Mahusay (they/them) is a Bay Area multi-disciplinary artist who focuses on creating pieces in conversation with their intersecting identities. Many of their works relate to their Autism/ADHD, mixed Filipinx heritage, and trans experience. Gem's process widely involves improvisation, and finds that this method is extremely transformative in processing tough feelings. One of the main focuses of their pieces are anthropomorphic blobs that they call "little guys." To Gem, the little guys represent Autistic traits, and are shown many times depicted in jars or other suppressing environments. Over the years this allegory has transformed into scenes of exploration and acceptance of Autistic traits and trans joy. Lately, their abstract paintings have focused on community care and the trans experience.