SELF-EXPLORATION MIXED MEDIA WORKSHOP
In the Self-Exploration Mixed Media Workshop, you will explore basic art-making techniques at your own pace. Unconventional mixed media will be used in these workshops in combination with acrylic and water-based paint and drawing materials, such as charcoal, pencil, ink and graphite. In this workshop, De Wet guides participants through a series of mixed media
exercises which culminate in the creation of a mixed media artwork using a combination of the materials explored. In so doing, participants learn, share and create together, gently pushing the boundaries and awakening their inner creative worlds. SELF-EXPLORATION PORTRAIT PAINTING WORKSHOP
In the Self-Exploration Portrait Painting Workshop, De Wet guides participants through a series of self-portrait exercises that investigate the external presentation of the internal Self. SELF-EXPLORATION PAINTING WORKSHOP
The Self-Exploration Painting Workshop encourages free, open-minded, expressionistic exploration of different painting techniques on canvas that push the boundaries of how participants understand painting. The combination of thick, opaque, bold paint, layering and sensitive brushstrokes is a subtle yet mindful approach to contemporary art making. This workshop will investigate an array of methods by which to apply paint to a surface, including using various brush sizes, application tools and spray bottles with water-based (acrylic) paint. The workshop will culminate in the production of an abstract work that incorporates some recognizable images or objects. DRAWING WORKSHOP
In this workshop, De Wet’s shares different drawing techniques for both inexperienced and experienced workshop participants. By using a broad range of hard and soft pencils and graphite, as well as erasers and pencil shavings as drawing tools, the workshop teaches participants how to create evocative yet sensitive works. This is best achieved by exploring and letting go of the preconceived idea that one has to create a masterpiece. The aim of this workshop is to explore different techniques and produce an artwork by means of a series of guided exercises in a safe environment in which there is no right or wrong way to draw. Biography:
Natasja de Wet was born in South Africa in 1968. She is a fine art and graphic design graduate from the Tshwane University of Technology and continued her studies in drawing and painting at the University of South Africa (UNISA). De Wet’s interest in subtly portraying the human psyche in her visual art led her to study Psychophonetics, an approach to psychotherapy and personal development, at Persephone College under Yehuda Tagar. In 2017, she completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Fine Art at the Michaelis School of Fine Art (University of Cape Town) under the supervision of Associate Professor Virginia McKenny and Senior Lecturer Fabian Saptouw, and graduated with distinction. Through her work, De Wet aims to reveal the inner character, or soft underbelly, of humankind. Mixed media, drawing, painting and assemblage enable De Wet to visually contemplate internal experiences such as growth, insecurity, sexuality, flux and the various expressions of the human psyche. De Wet has held numerous solo exhibitions, the most recent of which was titled Melancholia (2019) at the Pathology Museum, UCT Pathology Learning Centre in Cape Town. Her work has also been included in group exhibitions and biennales in South Africa and internationally, some of the most notable being the Florence Biennale (Italy, 2009), the Izmir Biennale (Turkey, 2011) and Afrovibes at Galerie Chiellerie (The Netherlands, 2008). Her works are included in the collections of Sasol Gas; the city of Seinäjoki, Finland and the National Museum, South Africa. Various artworks from De Wet’s body of work Melancholia (2017-2018) are currently on loan to the Pathology Learning Centre, Department of Pathology, UCT Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town.
