Ever wanted a sacred little space for your favorite pebble, odd trinket, or favorite Eurpoean antique market but haven’t been able to find the piece that’s *just right*? In this playful, hands-on workshop, we’ll build small shrines, nichos, and treasure cubbies using simple materials like cardboard, plaster gauze, plaster of Paris. Think of it as creative architecture and interior decorating for your soul… in miniature. Whether you’re honoring a beloved object, a memory, your favorite handmade journal, or that treasure you can’t throw away because it’s definitely important somehow, you’ll create a unique container to hold it. Your nicho can be as wild and ornate as a folk-art altar bursting with color and texture—or sleek, minimal, and modern like a tiny architectural marvel. It’s totally up to you. You can make one or a handful, depending on your flow with the day, or shrines within shrines! And yes, we will be getting our hands and aprons dirty—in the best way. Even if you didn’t love playing in the mud as a kid, the spirit of making mud pies will be alive and well in this workshop as we engage with elemental materials with delight, curiosity, and creating something just because it felt good. That kind of messy, magical play is still in you. This workshop is a chance to rediscover your inner child's joy and sense of wonder—one sweet shrine at a time.
Materials Fee $ 12 paid at beginning of class includes:
all materials you’ll need to build a basic shrine and extra supplies provided by instructor.
Supplies Needed to bring for Class:
Scissors
Masking tape (A couple of yards wrapped around a pencil should be plenty. I recommend white or cream in color but any inexpensive brand is fine.)
A few artist brushes including a 1” wide soft, dense brush (not a chip brush).
Container for water for plaster gauze dipping. (A water cup is too small so something like a tupperware container big enough to hold a sandwich would be ideal.)
A few small tubes of your favorite colors of paint including a white/offwhite. (acrylic, gouache, or watercolor.
A rag, paper towels, or wipes if you frequently clean your hands while making art.
OPTIONAL:
An apron because this class can get messy!
Kraft knife WITH cutting mat (please don’t use the knife without a mat). Whichever you prefer to cut cardboard/chipboard with.
A specific item that you want to make your shrine fit perfectly or the dimensions of that item written down.
A few pieces of your favorite collage ephemera. Think about images you might like in the back of your shrine or napkins with pretty patterns that you can “wallpaper” your piece with.
Found knobs, pieces of wood, large buttons, etc that you might want to use as feet, finials, or steeples for your shrine. They can be painted or left as-is.
Small scraps of styrofoam to recycle in your art. Think flat pieces that can easily be cut as needed for the shrine.
To pre-order supplies, click on this link for Runaway Art and Craft Studio...