Corks ‘N Canvas

Ok so let me guess…to whomever is reading this right now, you think that you have no artistic talent whatsoever and the thought of drawing and painting in front of others sounds stressful and thoroughly unenjoyable, right? Right. That’s what I thought too until I went to Corks ‘N Canvas last week. I felt forced into it because it was part of my good friend’s bachelorette festivities and how could I say no? The $45 price tag didn’t make me want to go any more than the thought of being judged at my inability to draw a straight line. But, nevertheless, I decided to suck it up and go because of the sheer peer pressure of it all.

I walked in a little late, moseyed up to the front desk and told them I was here for Sara’s private party. They told me since it was a 3 hour class that it would cost $45. I asked them what happens if you suck at art and find it stressful. The lady at the front desk said that everyone thinks that and if you’re stressed that’s what the wine is for. Fair enough.


I made my way to the back room for the private party. It was way more casual than I expected. The group, made up of boys and girls, was noshing on cookies and sipping various wines. I knew I could do that.

A little bit later, our instructor came in. She was a local artist who informed us that she was going to be the one walking us through our painting. We were going to be doing a painting of a streetcar. Our teacher had a finished painting at the front as well as blank canvas that she would be drawing on. There was also an expo board behind her that she later used to show us a magnified version of some of the steps.

We started out by dividing the canvas in 4 equal sections. We then used a pencil to sketch the drawing on our canvas. Before we started painting, the instructor came around to check on our drawings. She fixed mine a tad so that I wouldn’t have a lopsided streetcar. What a relief! As she went on, I followed each step and it really wasn’t as scary as I thought it was going to be! Every time we were about to do something semi-complicated, our instructor would tell us to take a big gulp of wine. Since I like to follow directions, I of course complied and it made everything better! The whole experience was fun and relaxed with music playing in the background and fun chitter-chatter with close friends the whole time.

When it was time to leave, I was stunned that the street car in front of me was completed by yours truly! It was by no means the best in the class, (in fact it was probably the worst), but STILL unartistic me had painted something New Orleansy to hang in my bedroom and it was all mine! I left feeling tipsy, thrilled that I had some artistic ability in me, as well as a brand new piece of art to hang up in my apartment. Not bad for $45!! Go to their website and choose a day to go based on the painting they will be doing at any one of their 4 locations in Louisiana. There are lots of good options! I will surely be grabbing a friend, a good bottle of wine, and painting another masterpiece soon!

http://www.corksncanvas.com/