Workshop Review Pashur/Jay Bautista's Tribals

Sooo...
Yesterday I attended a kickoff class for Pashur and Jay Bautista's Tribals workshop in Columbus, Ohio. The class was touted to be a blend of the Americanized Tribals designs Pashur uses and Jay's T-5 style of tribals.

In a class of about 18 students, the "dynamic duo" took us through the courses while the basic fundamental shapes of most tribal designs were drilled into our creative memory banks.
The first half of the class was all about learning the basic 'elements' from the basic T-5 line to the ever elusive "Klingon Swiss Cheese"...obviously, those two had fun with naming conventions. Some of the elements were challenging but for the most part, they were all doable with a little practice. After covering the basics, the way that all of those element could be used and how to figure out which element to "plug" in was discussed as Jay and Pashur took turns demonstrating what could be done. Tribal designs are very organic and free flowing in nature so the best way that the process of constructing one could be described was "it's like playing tetris", and it really was! We watched a few awesome demos and then everyone was paired up and given 7 minutes each to execute our own tribal designs on each other. I got to pair up with Marth (A Face Painting Mom) and we had a lot of fun being silly...though admittedly, the silliness started BEFORE the first brush was ever picked up!

At the beginning of the class, we were tasked with painting our rendition of a tribal design and the instructors went around and took pictures of our "before" pictures. Why? Because the proof was in the pudding and they gave us that proof by taking pictures of our team paintings to show exactly how far we'd come in an afternoon! Because tribal designs are created by building elements on top of base elements, the instuctors went through a lot of effort to ensure that each element was grasped before moving on. I think this approach was in keeping with the attentive teaching methods that Pashur has been known for and I suspect it's also second nature with Jay.

Pros: I got a lot out of the class. The understanding of the elements and how to fit them together for a 'unique everytime" puzzle was priceless...maybe this time it'll stick? The way the class was structured was great and I like the focus being set on our progress instead of just throwing a bunch of shapes at us, and setting us loose to figure it out at home.

Cons: While I appreciate that everyone has to get a start somewhere, I think that this class needs to be billed as a class with some basic prerequisites for skill set. Because the instructors wanted the class to move along at the same pace so that the concept of buiding on a design could be grasped, that move was sometimes at a snails pace because of the varied skill set in the class. At the very least, this is a class that I'd discourage a beginner who's never picked up a brush to take. At the very least, a mastery of brush control, line strength, thick to thin painting technique and even blending would be a huge step towards keeping the class going at a better pace.This class is definitely not for the sopping wet novice, but anyone who's at least picked up a brush and spent any time mastering their control and line strength should do very well without hindering the rest of the classes learning process. However, even during the lulls we were encouraged to keep practicing and even occassionally tossed a suggestion on how to challenge ourselves while we waited for the new-to-face painting attendees to get up to speed.

All in all, $100 for 2 top notch instructors can't be beat! Those instructors have an obvious master in what they were teaching and they were able to offer helpful suggestions and answers to most all of our questions. It's often difficult to find teachers who so obviously care about your progress and 2 more suited goofballs have yet to be paired up. If you get a chance to take this class, I'd highly reccomend it, you will walk out with a lot more confidence than you walked in with!

J

can't wait, Glitterfly and I are going to the same class in Michigan tomorrow!!

I received info from Pashur that he's coming my way, but no details about when or where? Is the schedule listed somewhere?

Dear Whitney:
Here is a link from Pashur's "Canvas Alive" website:

http://www.canvasalive.com/workshops.htm

thanks so much for the review LadyJade.

P.s. I <3 Martha! She is a hoot!

She's a hoot and a half! I'm sure if the class had've run a little longer we'd have managed to get ourselves kicked out for giggling...

I can't wait Pashur will be in Minneapolis MN In sept....still on classes in wisconsin but getting closer...

Thanks for the review!

Hmmm, Seattle in November....!

Hmmm... I thought he was coming closer. Looks like Houston is the closest he'll be to me. Still considering it though.

No one ever comes to Utah....

You know...if you can get a band of painters together he often adds on dates and locations to his tour schedule. He did it in Cleveland last year. He was teaching in Columbus and just hopped up to Cleveland for a workshop for our Guild. The only thing is that you have to have committment in order for him to do it...last year I think Suzy was trying to get a bunch of painters together for Margi's class and just when things were being finalized painters pulled out and the class had to be cancelled. I've been trying to get Mark Reid to Cleveland but I can't get the level of committment I need for that and Mark (and other instructors aren't in the business to lose money by giving classes to 3 or 4 people). It's frustrating to be sure!

Yeah, I understand. Someone organized Pashur to come here a couple of years ago and I missed it. Someday!!

Kat,

Jay is scheduled to come to Utah. I am looking at the dates to see about joining him for the workshop - if his class plan will allow it of course. Perhaps we can do the Tribal workshop there.

Pashur

You better come Pashur! You know you love us here in Utah.

D.

It was a great class I had fun playing around with my tribal dragon design at the festival this weekend.

Perry, I saw the pic from the Michigan class on Pashur's facebook and your pink hair made you stand right out from the crowd! I saw you right away.

hehehe... it was a nice road trip with friends

Hi I see that Pashurs going to be in Las Vegas. How do you find out where and how to get tickets?

Here is a link from Pashur's "Canvas Alive" website:

http://www.canvasalive.com/workshops.htm


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Pashur has been my absolute favorite workshop as far as live in person. He takes the time to make sure everyone in the class has 'gotten' it before going on to the next part of the class and really cares about each student's progress. I've been in other live classes where the instructor was more worried about how popular he was or more interested in his phone than the students who paid to be there. Anytime Pashur comes anywhere close to me, I'll be there because I wouldn't want to miss anything he had to teach

Is Central New York too far, Dawnie? Our Guild is hosting a Pashur class in August... Can't wait!!!!!

We are not HOSTING a Pashur class. He is scheduled to be up here anyway, and I HAPPENED to help him secure a spot. That's all.

just wondering, still a newbie but quality is getting better.. I'm only face painting and have no real interest in body painting, also am not really painting the older crowd ie teens yet...would you wait to go to one of his seminars???

I would go, miss ronnie but i have festivals the whole month of august!

We were supposed to take this in Erie, but it was canceled so we'll be in Syracuse. My biggest question is what about the people who've taken with them before?

I took tribals with Jay and Chris in Orlando. And I've workshopped with Pashur a few times. Hearing that they start with "basics" and move so slowly has me worrying now.
Think it would still be worth it?