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Driftwood artist teaches kids age 5 to 12 how to make their own masterpieces

Eleven crabs and four sea turtles emerge from student art study
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Langford driftwood artist Paul Lewis held a workshop for homeschooled kids around Greater Victoria at Esquimalt Lagoon on Oct. 24. (Facebook/Paul Lewis)

Talk about taking art to the next level.

Langford driftwood artist Paul Lewis held a workshop for VicHomeLearn, a Facebook group of homeschoolers in Greater Victoria. A group of 15 kids, ages five through 12, had the chance to create their very own driftwood masterpieces on Oct. 24.

“I’ve never done something like this before,” Lewis says. “They all picked out their own pieces of wood for their creations. Honestly, I was really impressed.”

This is the first time Lewis has held an event like this. While he’s usually known for the various birds he creates out of driftwood, this time he went with crabs and sea turtles.

In preparation, he brought along cut-outs of thin plywood to act as the shell bases. Driftwood pieces for the workshop came from leftovers of a 12-foot Sasquatch he recently made for a friend.

A handful of parents were at Esquimalt Lagoon to assist the artist in using drills, screwdrivers, and saws.

“It was so fun to teach the young ones how to use these tools for art,” says the Langford man. “I got a good laugh from watching the adults learn how to use some of these for the first time. In the classroom, you don’t get this type of experience to improve your skills.”

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From the workshop, 11 turtles and four crabs emerged.

Lewis hopes the first workshop won’t be his last. He plans to organize a workshop for adults in early 2020. In the meantime, he’ll continue maintaining his birds at Esquimalt Lagoon and thinks a bear or another Sasquatch could be his next big project.

Lewis takes requests for custom builds. For business inquiries, you can reach him at 778-587-3371.

aaron.guillen@goldstreamgazette.com


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