New Adventure #4: Paint Bar

Have you been to a paint bar? I think they're a brilliant. The idea is to provide a fun and social painting experience to non-painters. All the supplies are provided - paint, canvas, brushes, easel. You sign up for a session to re-create a particular picture, and an instructor guides the group through every step, telling you what brush to use, which paints to dip in, where to draw lines, shade, etc. It's very simple and structured, which was great for me since I haven't painted since elementary school. But it's also flexible enough that everyone's painting comes out unique. Some of the more experienced people were obviously improvising around the guided steps and creating something a little more their own.

Karen and I signed up for a painting inspired by Monet's "Bridge over a Pond of Water Lillies". The place was pretty crowded and it was difficult to move around, but there was a stool and easel for everyone once we got settled in. The first half hour is for finding your spot, getting a smock and paints and settling. There is wine and beer for sale, and I highly recommend getting a drink. It adds a lot to the social atmosphere. The instructor was energetic and funny. She encouraged positivity and wandered around helping and giving advice in between steps.

Here's what I created:

It's sure not a masterpiece, but I'm not ashamed to hang it in my living room. I think that's pretty awesome for my first painting experience! I'll definitely be going back, and I think I might even try painting on my own. (Huge for me - I've never thought of myself as an artist.) Another potential hobby, oh no!

Here's the website of the place we went, The Paint Bar in Newton. If you want to try it, I suggest signing up for their mailing list so you're notified when they post the next month's schedule. They're booked almost solid for months out!

http://www.thepaintbar.com/

There's a similar place in Natick. I haven't been there, but it looks from the schedule like it's a little less busy:
http://www.palettesnatick.com/
 

New Adventure #3: Zumba

So, I have a new activity...again :-)

 

After many glowing recommendations, I finally tried a Zumba class. If you're not familiar, Zumba is an aerobic dance fitness class. An instructor leads the choreography, which draws on latin, hip-hop, Bollywood, martial arts, and belly dance styles, among others.

 

Check out this video (not the class I went to, just a good example):

 

There were 6 women in my class, including me. Two looked to be in their 20s, two in their 30s, and 1 in her 60s. The teacher was a happy, friendly girl about my age. Everyone was dressed in workout clothes (yoga pants, tank tops or tee-shirts) and sneakers.

 

I had no idea what a good workout it would be! The instructor played one song after another for the full hour with about 30 seconds break between songs to rest and get a drink of water. That's a lot of dancing! Each song had its own choreography that the instructor taught as we went. My instructor favored pop-top-40 kind of songs, with some latin and bollywood thrown in. We even danced to "Gangnam Style" :-)

 

I felt really silly at first trying to mimic the instructor, but I decided pretty quickly to just embrace the silliness and really get into it. The class built up from simple moves to complicated ones, so I had a chance to get the hang of it before the choreography got hard. It was awesome fun! I think lots of my contra friends would really enjoy it. It's similarly energetic, easy to pick up, and fun!

 

Anybody want to try it with me?