Art as a Practice of Gratitude with Dariana Dervis
Join us as artist Dariana Dervis creates a space to quiet our minds and express ourselves in ways daily life doesn’t always allow. Using natural and found objects, we’ll make beautiful keepsakes, but more importantly, we’ll carve out time for a creative getaway in the middle of the day.
This is a 3-part series with classes held from 12noon - 1:45pm on Wednesday Nov 4, Nov 11, and Nov 18
Wednesday Nov 4 - Shadow Tracing 12noon - 1:45pm
Join Dariana for a Shadow Sketching Class! Walking the Threshold Center grounds, we’ll find inspiring shadows from branches, leaves, flowers and trees. Using available light, shadows and paper, we will work with composition and positive and negative space before beginning our sketch. As an exercise in mindful observation, we’ll focus on tracing shadow shapes and staying present to our surroundings. Natural areas are continuously evolving. This activity is a fun way to notice and “see” in a different way as well as attune to the rhythms of nature. Creating a shadow sketch or drawing is a snapshot of a moment in time created with light, paper and pencil.
Good to know:
All materials provided. Pencils, colored pencils, markers, watercolors will be available for use.
Drawing skills are not necessary.
Bring an outdoor chair or blanket if you wish to sit on the ground.
We will be outdoors so wear comfortable clothes and bring bug spray, sunscreen, sunglasses or hat if needed.
Wednesday Nov 11 - Safety Pin Textile Brooch 12noon - 1:45pm
Transform and upcycle scraps into a unique, hand-stitched textile brooch. Create this beginner-friendly, handmade project with a large safety pin and fabric, leather or felt scraps. Embellish with thread, buttons, ribbons, embroidery, jewelry pieces and charms to make it your own. Each brooch becomes a small reminder that forgotten pieces can be given new life and beauty. Take home a wearable piece of tiny art!
Good to know:
All materials provided. However, feel free to bring any scrap fabric, jewelry you would like to repurpose, sewing notions or charms you'dl like to add to your brooch.
Wednesday Nov 18 - Embossed Ornaments 12noon - 1:45pm
Turn something ordinary into something to treasure. In this session, we’ll transform disposable aluminum cooking pans into embossed ornaments using just a dull pencil and a simple template. As you trace and press your design into the soft metal, a raised, shimmering pattern takes shape. It’s a quiet, meditative process that feels like drawing in reverse. No art experience is needed, just a willingness to slow down and enjoy the process. You’ll leave with a one-of-a-kind keepsake to hang on your tree, give as a gift, or keep as a reminder of an afternoon set aside for yourself.
Good to know: All materials provided
Take one class or take all 3 for a package discounted price!
registration details: REgistration is Required
Each Wednesday Afternoon class will be held from 12pm - 1:45pm
Wednesday, November 4th - Shadow Tracing
Wednesday, November 11th - Safety Pin Textile Brooch
Wednesday, November 18th - Embossed Ornaments
The Fee:
$25 per person per session - Or the discounted package price of $60 for all 3!
Each session is limited to 18 people.
Please don’t let price hold you back. Scholarships are available, just reach out. Contact Admin@thethresholdcenter.org.
This is a Billie James Fund for the arts program. find out more here.
Location: The beautiful and newly renovated Threshold Center at 3794 Crosshaven Drive, Vestavia Hills/ Cahaba Heights, AL 35223. Parking is free. Handicapped parking is available at the door.
Dariana Dervis will facilitate this series.
Meet Dariana
Deeply inspired by nature, Dariana Dervis delights in mining beauty from the ordinary to create the extraordinary. She is a native Alabamian and mixed media collage artist with an eye for finding beauty in the discarded, in the forgotten, and in the natural world.
Recurring themes include exploration of common threads surrounding home, place, flora and fauna. With a BFA from the University of Montevallo, Dariana currently works as both fine artist and graphic designer in Birmingham, Alabama.
See more of Dariana’s art here: https://darianadervis.com/
