ESCANABA — Among the variety of activities offered by artist Diane Krebs Mays during the Senior Art sessions at the Bonifas Arts Center, participants recently tried controlling alcohol inks.

At the Feb. 28 Senior Art class, the group created placemats with alcohol ink. The mats were covered with contact paper to preserve them.

For Maggie Miller, it was a chance to play with color.

“I like the idea that you can play and have fun with color without worrying about the results because if you don’t like it you can just paint over it,” Miller said.

Alcohol inks are very vibrant.

“I love color. Color is very nurturing to me. The idea that I can make this very colorful placemat for my dinner table is awesome,” said Miller.

Alcohol inks are very fluid.

“This dries faster than watercolor but then you can also re-wet it with the alcohol and play with it some more,” Miller said.

She drops different colors on the paper and then pushes it around by blowing through a straw. The trick is learning to control the inks to create shapes or designs. But for the most part, Miller just waited to see what might be created as the inks moved around the paper.

Upcoming Senior Art activities include Wearable Art and Produce Printing in March. Classes run through June on the second and fourth Tuesdays at the Bonifas. 

Sessions are open to seniors at no charge with financial support from sponsors, Superior Health Foundation and Thrivent Financial.