Some 26 women are sitting chatting at the The Handmade Shoppe, many (me included) staring nervously at the blank canvas sitting on a table in front of them.
It is my first time at a Cocktail & Canvas workshop, held at The Handmade Shoppe at Westgate Market in the former Canadian Tire Building.
The nervous and excited buzz turns quickly into loud giggles and guffaws as artist Kris Fuller of 123 Artful Paint introduces her hilarious self before taking students from blank canvas to pleasing art.
Following her step-by-step instructions, participants relax and some, like me, begin to unleash a long-forgotten joy of creating art – just for the fun of it.
It helped that my friend, Monica, kept reassuring me that the fat, stubby green things at the bottom of my canvas would indeed morph into recognizable grass and flower stems.
"Don't worry, you'll just keep layering," she encouraged.
My enjoyment and satisfaction level was so high at the end of the class that I have already paid up for the next session on Saturday, Feb. 25, when fireflies at sunset will be the subject.
Fuller also teaches her fun art classes in Enderby, Armstrong, Vernon and Kelowna.
The Salmon Arm session on Feb. 25 takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $40 and include all the materials needed to produce your masterpiece, along with your first cocktail or beverage.
Get your tickets at www. squareup.com/store/123-artful or visit Chris at The Handmade Shoppe.