ShavuART Workshop 2024

Sunday, June 2, 2024 | 2:00 - 5:00 PM | Bamboo Royal Oak | Register Now

At ShavuART, participants will visit two hands-on art workshops, learning new crafts from peer artists while being inspired by the artists’ self expressions and unique styles.

We are excited to feature five amazing artists this year with a diverse range of styles. Learn more about them and their workshops below (presented in alphabetical order), and grab your tickets for ShavuART here.

Yevgeniya Gazman: Embracing the Spark

This workshop will focus on creating one element at a time rather than worrying about the outcome. This method is liberating and a key step to creating. During this workshop the group will have a calm and creative space to let go of expectations and just organically, artistically flow. We will practice stepping back and listening to the whispers of the Universe. This workshop is truly about the journey rather than a particular destination.

Yevgeniya Gazman is the founder and creative force behind YGazm Art, LLC. The motto of her company is Good Through Art Together. Yevgeniya turns her art into products ranging from yoga pants to tote bags. She is always on the lookout for opportunities to use her artistic talents to support value-aligned causes and organizations.

Jenna Lopatin: Wire Stone Wrapping

In this workshop, participants will get to explore the freedom and creativity of stone wrapping. Jenna will guide participants through creating twisted wraps, exploring techniques for all abilities, including an ambitious (but totally possible!) Tree of Life encased stone.

Jenna is an accountant by day and a crafter in her spare time. She has been sewing and knitting since she was 12, inspired by her Nana who had a passion and immense talent for the fiber arts. Jenna has more recently gotten into wire wrapping, as a way to incorporate her love and interest in stones and crystals into her everyday jewelry. Jenna hopes to inspire the crafter in everyone and show them the freedom and beauty of wire wrapping!

Leah Sachs: Hand Lettering with Tools from the Junk Drawer

In this workshop, you'll receive an approachable intro to the art of calligraphy with a tool assortment you also have at home. Learn about calligraphy from an expert, without the hassle of fussy, specialized tools. Benefit from the calming, meditative practice of lettering and learn how to continue your practice after the workshop session, with basics you already have!

Leah Sachs is a metro Detroit artist who works with lots of mediums. Regardless of the final art type, she wants her clients to celebrate life’s joyous moments, big and small. She finds inspiration from her clients’ unique story and centers her art around them, so they feel nostalgic whenever they revisit their special piece — whether it’s wedding stationery, commissioned calligraphic, drawn, or painted art, or a unique three-dimensional product.

Erik Sellstrom: Cyanotype Photography

Cyanotype is a non-toxic photographic process that produces a cyan-blue print using UV light. Negatives, stencils, or objects are placed on top of a sheet of photosensitive paper and exposed to UV light. Areas hit with direct UV light become a beautiful indigo-blue color, whereas areas that were blocked during exposure remain paper white. Historically, as a simple, low-cost process, cyanotype printing was one of the first photo printing methods. Engineers used this photographic process well into the 20th century as a way to produce copies of drawings, referred to as “blueprints.”

In this workshop, artists will learn how to prepare cyanotype paper and create different materials to produce a photogram or contact print. Participants will prepare their own sheets of paper by uniquely coating them with a cyanotype solution. While the cyanotype paper dries, participants will prepare a photo-negative transparency sheet with a collage of cut-out images, which will then be laid over the cyanotype paper and exposed to UV light to create a unique cyanotype print or series of prints.

Erik Sellstrom is a detective by day - no, really - and a photographer by night. Erik’s art practice is somewhere between street photography, portraiture, and alternative process printing. During the pandemic, when public crowds were nonexistent and models unavailable to work with, Erik started to learn more about the history of photography and early printing methods, which led him to experiment with the lost art of cyanotype printing. Erik, though originally from Tennessee, lives in the Greenacres neighborhood of Detroit with his girlfriend Sarah and his dog Theo.

Jacob Smith: Getting Lost in a Maze

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to draw mazes that baffle and delight! We'll explore what makes mazes tricky and how to make them pop, plus add a dash of maze art history for good measure.

Jacob Evan Smith is a Detroit-based connector, community organizer, and visual artist. His art practice is rooted in interactive design that invites adults to pause and play. His work has been featured at various local galleries, including Playground Detroit, Corktown Studios, Annex Gallery, Tangent Gallery, Disco Walls, and Gallery 46. Several of his illustrations were published in the book "Tear Drops and Balloons" by singer/songwriter Mike Posner.