Isabelle Saussez

Website: isador.be/en/

Area of Operation: Belgium

As a kid, I used to love drawing with whatever medium was put into my hands but my best memories are those in front of the easel with brushes and poster paints, where I lost all sense of time. It is not until adulthood, at a time when I was living abroad in a country at war and needed to escape from the harsh daily « routine », that I started drawing (pencil, ink, charcoal) and painting with watercolors. When I returned to my home country (aged 28), I took interior design classes whilst working. I learned, amongst other things, perspective and composition, and I developed various drawing/ coloring skills (crayons, oil and dry pastels, ink, watercolor, markers...). I did not chose to make a living as an interior designer but I made sure to keep spare time for my artistic longings. This is why I turned to acrylics. I took private acrylic classes that allowed me to develop my sensitivity and my own style in mixed media. My teacher guided us to use our right brain and to be careful about having a proper composition, and so I gained my first experiences and expertise in mixed media and then in fluid acrylics. I have painted more than 300 canvases and held 6 exhibitions here in Brussels, Belgium since 2008. My (abstract) artwork in mixed media mainly focuses on mastering hues as seen in nature and creating textures that would enhance the depth of the colors as well as reflecting nature dimensions (plaster, mortar, sand, glue, gels). As a fluid acrylic early adopter, I made lots of experimentation in acrylic pouring and still am. I work on discovering how gravity and densities can impact my artwork. In my «day job », I am a ‘Change & Organisation Officer’, trained in facilitation and animation techniques for workshops that I have led for about 50 teams/ 500 people over the last 3 years. End 2018 I decided to start teaching painting as a part-time activity. I propose classes in acrylic pouring as well as mixed media, accessible to all whatever their level. My students are beginners as well as intermediate painters; some want to (re)connect with the pleasure of creating, others want to explore a technique that is new to them, and some are interested in using the technique in their therapeutic activities (letting go, focussing on the present moment…). I love guiding students to explore new ways of creating with mediums they do not know. I take a special care in the progression pace of the training, so that students remain motivated to go ahead and feel confident going beyond their comfort zone. My aim is to make them rapidly able to make by themselves a painting they like, while respecting their style. Pleasure and discovery are essential components of my classes. I take care to establish a safe environment where there is no judgment but only new possibilities. There are no mistakes as such, I encourage my students to consider their « unwanted » results as opportunities to deepen their discovery of new ways of expressing something.

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