Aroma Art - Natural Soap Making In-Studio Class Mar 1

Aroma Art - Natural Soap Making In-Studio Class
Saturday, March 1, noon-3pm
Instructor: Lisa Gillespie
Limit: 8 students. All participants must be 15 years or older.

Class Details:

We were quite taken with these luscious natural soaps from designer Lisa Gillespie – especially when we heard that marbled papers at the store inspired some of her designs! Lisa, an experienced and award-winning artist, crafts soaps with simple ingredients that support the skin. They’re an eco-savvy alternative to commercial soaps, which can wreak havoc on the environment and your system. 

This hands-on workshop covers the basics of making hand-poured, cold-process soap. It’s a traditional method that produces higher quality soap than other methods. Selected base oils, scents, natural and/or cosmetic color, and lye are mixed together until they emulsify. (Note: Lisa is all about safety. You don’t handle the lye directly, and she reviews safety tips at the beginning of class.) Everyone works the mixture in order to gain hands-on experience about how thick to make the slurry and how to tell when it’s ready to pour. The exciting part of the process is customizing the soap with color and embellishments. Simple techniques elevate the design, giving the soap an artistic flair. You’ll practice a few easy packaging techniques on bars of soap that have already cured.  

The class is set up so that it’s simple enough for beginners, but there are options for diving in more deeply for those who want to. Leave class inspired with simple soap recipes, a resource list, a bar of handcrafted soap, and – quite possibly – a happy obsession with a new pursuit that’s both creative and practical!

The class is held at the instructor’s studio in South Boulder. The address will be sent in a pre-class email.

An email will be sent to participants the Monday before the class. Classes with homework may receive pre-class info earlier.  No email? Double check the email address you entered when you registered and your SPAM folder. Due to SPAM filters and inbox settings, we cannot guarantee you will see, read, or open these emails. Two Hands Paperie assumes no responsibility for non-attendance of a class. Contact twohandsclasses@gmail.com with any class questions and see our Class Policies page for more information. 

Class Materials

Please bring the following materials:

• Clothes with long sleeves/long pants/closed-toed shoes
• Apron
• Safety googles. (Can be found at hardware and paint stores.) 
• Mask (a precaution when working with high concentrations of essential oils)
• Water and a snack for the short break

Class materials:

• All soap making materials, plus embellishments for decorating the soap are provided
  
• Decorative paper and wax seals to wrap the soap

Class Refund/Cancellation Policy

Cancellations made up to 14 days prior to the first class meeting will be refunded or, at the participant's option, used to pay for another class. Two Hands Paperie will retain a $10 processing fee for EACH class cancelled by a participant. After 14 days, there is no refund or credit. In addition, the fee for a class cancelled within this 14-day timeframe by a participant cannot be transferred to pay for another class. These policies are to ensure that teachers are compensated for their investment in materials and in time spent preparing for the class. We reserve the right to cancel a class if fewer than 3 students enroll 48 hours prior to the scheduled class time. If for any reason Two Hands Paperie cancels a class, students will be called at the phone number on file and refunded the FULL class fee.

Instructor Bio

The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. – Pablo Picasso

My soap does that, too! – Lisa M. Gillespie

Lisa Gillespie hails from the southeast corner of Pennsylvania, where she grew up in the midst of a lovingly animated and loud extended family that was fond of creativity, theater, and art. Like her dad, Lisa was curious and extroverted, with a talent for finding communities of shared interests. She moved to New York City to attend art school, majoring in media arts/animation. She stayed there and worked as an art director in an award-winning corporate communications studio before moving to Boulder with her husband. 

After the move she continued in corporate communications work, but eventually tired of the unrelenting hours. Lisa wore several different hats in other fields and even had her own private practice as a massage and craniosacral specialist. She actively enjoys the outdoors, volunteers with Boulder’s Open Space and Parks, and still found time to visit over 260 (!!) National Park sites on family road trips. Her creative outlet over these years was designing costumes, themed parties, scenery for plays, and the like. She also studied pastel painting, which gave her a true appreciation for the play of color-layering.

Lisa eventually wandered into her artsy, natural soap odyssey as a spin-off in a challenge called 101 New Experiences in 1001 Days. She found a new love. Her ecologically savvy, wildly artistic creations won awards at the Denver County Fair, including first place several years running. Making far more soap than she could possibly use, Lisa started Courageous Soap and began selling at artisan markets and house parties. That adventure led in turn to teaching classes. Soap making, it turned out, was a natural amalgamation of her interests in art, natural ingredients (gleaned from her massage therapy practice), and teaching/leading groups.

Artistic and colorful designs with undertones of sly political commentary are a hallmark of her soaps, and Lisa donates a portion of her profits to voter registration and other pro-democracy non-profits. She continues entering soap competitions at the International level, still receiving awards and recognition for her unique style.

Lisa is thrilled to share her enthusiasm for soap making with students, and apologizes in advance if they end up getting addicted to this practical, creative hobby!