Seeing the Forest for the Trees

Simply put, I love teaching! Though when I start off with my students, I worry that I might miss a step or not explain something clearly. But in the end, I am always pleasantly surprised by the end results & the smiles on my students' faces! Read on & see what I mean...

my class sample

The start of the day had me a little worried as the snow started falling around lunchtime & the last time they forecasted a "trace of snow," we got 6 inches & blizzard-like conditions! So I was afraid I'd have to cancel class! But I have some brave & determined students! All but 3 of them made it! YAY!

After trying to find just the right size canvas board for us to work with, I decided to hit the local Home Depot! I had some lumber cut down into 12x20 lengths for us to work on instead!

Then I set about gathering scrapbook papers from my stash, paints, stamps & inks. I have my moms old Cricut machine & borrowed my sisters so that everyone wouldn't have to hand-cut all their circles! What a life saver those things are! Cooked up some yummy food & we were ready to go!

I didn't snap any photos during class, but of course I got everyone's finished work…

And one of some happy students…

Throughout the evening, several ladies said that this was their favorite class so far. How sweet is that?!

Oh & here's the one I worked on in class…

I just love sharing my passion with people & I love that the work seems to make them happy. Art can be totally therapeutic  That said, I have to share with you all that one of my students is going through a rough patch right now. She brought along some images & mantra's to put into her tree. She's treating it a lot like a vision board while she tries to move past this hard time. She said that my class came along at just the right time for her & I hope that her tree helps her "grow" in new directions!

It's things like this that make teaching my little classes every now & then so worthwhile!

If you are on Pinterest & would like to help me come up with new ideas for future classes, I would like to invite you to pin to my "Class Inspiration" board! Let me know if you'd like an invite!

I can't wait to get to work on the next class!!

Cheers!

Sunday Musings - Thoughts About My Art & Business

In the Distance

Feeling blessed...

A couple of weeks ago, I will have the honor of delivering this painting to the new home of my good friend, Ms. Potts! (Her name is Becky too, so we've reverted to her last name, which is super fun to say with a British accent! LOL)

And just before the Larkspur Harvest Fest "show," my other friend & one of my biggest supporters, Rebecca (another Becky!!) bought this painting for her home...

Beau Pavot (Beautiful Poppy)

to compliment the other poppy painting she commissioned me to do…

Crimson Tide

I feel truly honored to have my artwork hanging in a few friends' homes! It's a very humbling experience to have someone like your art enough to purchase it & hang it in their home!

Beyond

Fear of rejection...

Even though I put up a confident front about my art, like most artists, I fear rejection. Doing this first "show" has given me a little more confidence to try some more shows & to even look for a few juried shows, but it's scary!! (On Tuesday, 10/7, I will deliver the above painting, "Beyond," to The Phillip S. Miller Library in Castle Rock for The National Arts Program show! It's not a juried entry, but it is judged & I am hoping to receive at least an Honorable Mention from the judges!)  I am even considering approaching a couple local restaurants to see if they would hang a piece in their dining rooms! Now, THAT'S really scary to me! It's really hard to "sell" yourself!! It's hard to be near someone as they look at my work & chat with their companion because I know that not everything I create will appeal to everyone that looks at it. During the show, I tried to avoid hovering around as people looked at my work & I have to say, that in general, most of the comments were very kind. Thank you for that!

What's it worth?

Besides the criticism that comes about, there's the whole pricing your work issue. How much did I spend on materials? How long did it take me to finish? What is my time worth? What would I pay for that piece? What kind of client would I expect to hang this in their home, office or business?  I found a few formulas online before the show a couple of weeks ago on pricing in order to price myself fairly. My friend Michelle kindly spent an hour or two helping me adjust that pricing where we felt that the original price wasn't right. Then to be told by another artist that some of my pieces were too low! UGH! I feel funny pricing things higher as I am an "unknown" artist really just getting started & although I want to make money with my artwork, I also want it to sell & for people to have it hanging in their homes where they can enjoy it. But if I price it too low, am I devaluing my ability? When I chat with other artists, they have gone through the same struggle. I guess over time, I will get more comfortable with pricing.

The value for teaching...

Another area I struggle with is the cost & time for my classes. I was pricing my classes around the same amount that store-front Paint & Sips were charging - $35-45, but I found that I wasn't making much profit at that price point. So, I have raised them quite a bit & many people ask me why my classes are more expensive than the local Paint & Sips…well, in general my classes run longer (3-4 hours), we use more supplies (expensive paints, mediums, stencils & collage pieces) & I try to offer food as well as beverages. I like that my classes offer a relaxed, non-rushed atmosphere to create in & I believe my students enjoy it too! (Check out my last class HERE.)

As I learn & grow as an artist, I must try to learn & grow as a business person too. I have joined the local Chamber & have been researching ways to make my business grow & thrive in my small community! Wish me luck! It's a long road! LOL

Cheers!

Sharing my passion...

I can't begin to express the joy I feel when I am able to share my passion with others & teach them the techniques that I have come to love in creating my own canvases! The other night, I did just that by teaching a group of friends how to create this canvas during a "Mixed Media Mama's" night at my place:

It's so amazing to watch others take the techniques & create their own visions of the project! Even with a few glitches in tools, these ladies were amazing!

Deione & Charity having some fun!

Gabrielle thinking outside the box with a red background!

Working on the backgrounds

Rachel & Gabrielle at work

 (I am bummed to say I didn't get a final shot of Rachel's - she worked on 3 canvases simultaneously! I promise to get a pic from her when they are on her bedroom wall!)

Charity created a beautiful blended background for her trees!

Bev & Maria getting ready for the next step...

And Maria dives in!

Barb & her daughter Keri hard at work!

Michele & one other "student" ventured into different techniques.

It make she feel proud of my students & honestly, proud of myself when I see their pieces coming together! I think to myself, "I taught them that!" It's such an amazing feeling!!!

Bev's beautiful canvas!

Gabrielle, Barb, Keri & Charity's amazing works!

Rebecca, Michele & Maria's gorgeous pieces!

And of course, we had to get the kiddos into the act…no sitter? no problem! These two hung out on their own while we painted & didn't get into the act until later…

Bev's daughters playing along!

Don't you just love the colors & the freedom of their work? Their mom told me that they were inspired to pull some paint & canvases out at home the next morning as well.

I am blessed!

Cheers!

Let's Raise Some Money!!

Ok, I'm just going to say it & get it out of the way…

I'm hosting a FUNDRAISER!

Whew! I got that outta the way!

It's never easy to ask for money & telling people you're having a fundraiser, you immediately get a groan & they ask, "How many rolls of wrapping paper or magazines do I have to buy this time?"

Well, this is not your typical fundraiser!

This one will be all about ART & of course, the kids…

Come learn to paint one of two Mixed Media Canvases with me & help us fill our basket!

(**See below for more info on what we are raising money for.)

Announcing the 

"Have a heART Painting Class Fundraiser"

Out on a Limb, 9x12

It was my intention to only teach the above canvas, but my 8 year old daughter (THE Magpie) wanted something more fun…hence the 2nd canvas! Both use the same techniques & are much easier than they look! REALLY!! I PROMISE!!!! 

{*see her small canvas at the end of this post*}

Have a heART, 10x10

It's all in the DETAILS:

WHEN: Friday, February 7th

5pm-8pm (Pizza donated by Terri & Jerry Bennett!)

WHERE: Larkspur Elementary Art Room

Larkspur, CO

WHO: Ages 8 & up

(parents must accompany kids, but can simply assist if they wish)

HOW MANY: 25 spots

COST: $35 per student; your choice of canvas

Registration:

1/20/14 - open to LES families & staff members only please

1/27/14 - Registration opens to ALL community members

Register for Tickets
(Cash, Check & CC accepted & PAYABLE at the DOOR!)

Please contact me via email through this blog (HERE) with the names of the attendee(s) or via text/phone if you have a flyer with my number on it. (When the class has reached it's maximum of 25 students, I will contact you to see if you would like to be put on a waiting list.)

*NOTE: Only participating "artists" (& their parents) are allowed in the classroom during this event. No other non-participating siblings allowed due to space limitations. 

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

**WHY am I doing this, you ask??

 Every year here in Larkspur, our local elementary school holds it largest fundraiser called the Boot Scootin' Boogie. It's a great adult-only evening full of food, fun, silent/live auctions & dancing! Our part as parents of an LES student is to raise money or donations to fill our classroom's live auction basket (in this case, Mrs. Marti's 2nd Grade Class). 

This can be a daunting task! So this year, I decided that I would hold an art class with all the proceeds going towards that basket! BTW - The theme for our basket is "A Year Full of Date Nights!" Our hope is to get donations for events, restaurants, movies, etc, but "best laid plans" & all that…So just in case, these proceeds will allow us to purchase what we need to fill our basket full of "Dates" to be bid on during the Boot Scoot event in May.

Besides that, I simply HEART ART & want to share it with you!!!

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns!

Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

The Magpie's 4x4 version of the "Have a heART" canvas!

Side view!

My 1st Mixed Media Mamas!

Remember when I posted this picture?

Well, this past Friday, I taught 8 lovely ladies how to create something similar to this canvas in my very first "Mixed Media Mamas" class that I set up in my basement!

Most of the girls have taken those "Canvas & Cocktails" classes where you all paint the same thing, the same way…and a few of my students are artists as well, but had never dabbled in mixed media or layered paintings. So it was great fun to share these techniques with them!!!

We started by adding 2 layers of stencils/mark making in warm & cool colors...

Jan & Lisa playing with stencils

Kelhe concentrating...

Kelhe having fun! LOL!

Sarah speeding things along!

Tonya & Lisa acting for the camera! LOL

Jan adding texture to the sides & then speeding things along.

Erin showing off her beautiful layers!

Charity's gorgeous peacock feathers!

More of Charity's after another layer or two.

After the first 2 layers, we washed the entire surface with a thin layer of paint so that the layers were still visible underneath... 

Jan & Lisa adding a wash of color…Lisa looks worried!

Kelhe getting messy!

Tonya's beautiful wash of orange!

 After that, they played with adding some stamped images to the canvases with paint & ink...

Erin's covered in a soft yellow.

Charity blended green in with her feathers.

 Then they could add more texture with modeling paste & stencils if they desired to!

Kelhe adding some more dimension...

Very subtle!

Tonya added a little contrasting turquoise!

It was so much fun to see how different all of our work turned out & to see the release of creativity that this process brings out in people! NO rules here!!!

The quintessential group shot! Albeit, a little blurry in the back row!

Of course, since I had to show the techniques, I began a canvas (above) during class & added just a bit more after class…

It's not done, but it's a great start!

I can't wait to come up with another class idea for January!!!

If you're local & you think you might want to come, email me with your contact info & I'll be sure to put you on the Evite list!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!!

Cheers!