On Monday, January 26th, after school students gathered for a dragonfly watercolor painting workshop, hosted by Figments Magazine. The event was open to students of all experience levels and took place as an after-school activity to calm nerves before finals week. The workshop was organized by Figments Magazine, with materials and planning coordinated by the club’s leadership.
The workshop focused on teaching students on watercolor techniques through a guided dragonfly painting. Students were provided with watercolor paper, paint, and palettes, and followed step by step instruction while being encouraged to interpret the design individually. Students attend the workshop for a variety of reasons, including prior commitments and interest in art activities.
“I was already committed,” CKHS student Lily Misra, CKHS student said. “Then I remembered, today’s the dragonfly workshop, I’ll just go there instead.”
Participants entered the workshop with varying levels of artistic experience, ranging from frequent art practice to limited exposure through class assignments. The workshop was structured to allow students to follow along regardless of background while still working independently on their paintings. This range of experience influenced how students approached the activity and materials.
“I’ve been doing watercolor painting for a while, I love gouache, that’s my favorite medium.” Misra Said.
When students arrived, they observed the setup of the room, which included prepared materials and visual instruction. A slideshow was displayed to guide participants through the sets of the painting’s progress. Students took note of the organization and layout before beginning their artwork.
“I was really excited for this workshop,” CKHS student Lacey Wellborn said. “I asked what we were going to be doing and saw the whole room was set up nicely.”
The workshop focused on creating a dragonfly painting using watercolor techniques demonstrated by the instructor. Students followed the lesson while encouraged to make individual choices in color and design. The activity was paced to allow participants to complete their work within the scheduled time.
“I feel like it was really easy to follow along and add our own spin to it,” Misra said. “It was really cool and easy.”
As students progressed through the activity, they encountered different challenges related to design making. Some struggled with what the final painting would look like, while others related to the nature of working with water color paint. These challenges varied depending on each student’s approach.
“The biggest obstacle was just what am I gonna make,” Wellborn said. “But after my friend chose to do Bart [Simpson], I chose Homer [Simpson] to turn into dragonflies.”
The workshop was planned and organized by Figments Magazine leadership, including Madeline Johnson, the club’s president and Editor-in-Chief. The event was designed to support both club members and students new to figment magazine. The workshop also serves as a way to increase awareness of the club’s activities.
“My main hope for things like this, like writing workshops or painting workshops, is to build a sense of community here,” Johnson said.
