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Art Class - Day 4, no pictures

Thursday's art class was a day of challenge. It felt like I had forgotten everything that I had learned that week, plus everything that I knew before coming. So, no pictures to show you as I spent the day wrestling with my drawings, trying to wring out some semblance of order and flow.

At first, I blamed it on the media. "Oil pastels are so unforgiving, and I only have 12 colors to work with; the range is too limiting."

Then, I blamed it on last night's movie. "That stupid movie [He's Just Not That Into You] has ruined my creative flow, with its shallow plot and plodding pace."

Finally, I just had to say "It's me, I'm struggling, just give in and see what happens." So that's what I did. And the day was good and I'm looking forward to a new drawing challenge today. It's the last day, and weather permitting we're drawing the Legislative Building in the AM and touring the Joe Fafard exhibit at the gallery in the PM. We'll top it off with a little party to celebrate us, the students, and Millie, our instructor. And then that will be that. I'll be back to my normal life with the hope that I can infuse each week with a little more art-making than I did before.

Art Class - Day 3

We were outside for the morning today, drawing landscapes from the protection of the Duck Pond shelter at Assiniboine Park. In the afternoon, we went inside to the Conservatory to draw plants close-up. It was another amazing day of immersing myself in seeing and appreciating the details of nature.

For the afternoon project, I wandered around the Conservatory until I selected this foliage with a gorgeous contrast of pink and green:

I knew that I wanted to work with color pencil, since our instructor Millie had suggested it would be the perfect medium for this level of detail. So I chose some colors that would make up my palette:

Next, I used a light gray chalk pastel to sketch my outline. I love how the chalk pastel just rubs off if I make a stray mark:

Finally, I started added layers of color. Here's the image part-way done:

 

Tomorrow it's forecasting rain, so we're back at the Winnipeg Art Gallery studios for still-life. Wednesday hump day is over and we have only two days to go. Wow, time is going quickly!

Art Class - Day 2

How was Tuesday? Pretty fantastic! That's me on the walkway at the Forks. We spent three hours in that spot, drawing the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. It was a gorgeous spot and a joy to spend that amount of time doing ONE THING! When do I EVER spend three hours doing one thing? Never, that's when!

Here are some more photos to share. The artwork is all mine (someone asked after yesterday's post) and thanks to Diana for taking the above picture of me.

This bee visited me several times. Maybe that was a good sign that my drawings of plants were realistic?

It's crazy how uncomfortable the creating process can be. When art class instructor Millie outlines the assignment, my first reaction is usually "I don't think I can do this". But I've learned to just get started with a rough outline, then fill in a bit of color, and amazingly and soon enough, I start to think "Maybe I CAN do this".

Millie talks to us about using color, and reminds us that we're not trying to create a photograph. Rather, we're interpreting the scene using our imagination. This frees me from having to draw like Robert Bateman and lets me draw like Heidi Reimer-Epp.

Here are a few more pictures:

 

Tomorrow, we're meeting at the Assiniboine Park Duck Pond to draw under the shelter. I'm looking forward to a new and challenging assignment.

Art Class - Day 1

Yesterday was:
- thrilling
- exciting
- terrifying
- exhilarating
- freeing

We played with color, my favorite being soft chalk pastels where if you don't like the stroke, you can rub it out with your hand. It's messy, though, and so the afternoon of experimenting with oil pastels and art sticks was also fun.

In the afternoon, instructor Millie Giesbrecht encouraged us to break out of our normal style and to be bold and free with our strokes. Inspiration taken from Van Gogh.

Today, come rain or shine, we're off to the Forks. I'd better go find some warm and rain-proof clothes to take me through the day. Should be fun!

Making paper all together

We had a blast last night at Montrose School, teaching two classes of papermaking to parents and students as part of the Montrose School Arts Night. Thank you Angela for your able assistance and thank you Mrs. Mole for inviting us to participate.

We made paper using discarded white bond paper from the school office (thanks teachers for saving the paper for us) and colored it with discarded construction paper and tissue paper. If you'd like to make your own handmade paper, click here for basic papermaking and click here for tons of projects to do with your finished handmade paper including mini picture frames, pillow boxes and more.

Here's my mom, Mary, talking to the first group of students.

Thanks Noah, Bronwen, Jane, Deann, Stephania, Bijan and Omid for your enthusiastic participation! Here's one of the parents pulling a sheet of paper:

Kick it creative

 

It's a weekend jam-packed with creative endeavors, just as a weekend should be. The way I see it...Monday to Friday are for serious thinking and planning, Saturday and Sunday are for letting loose creatively.

Last night, I joined my monthly crafty crew for scrapbooking, cross-stitching, painting, and [in my case] knitting. Here's the project that I'm working on, a tuque for my eldest daughter. Here's the link to download the free pattern. I knit for so many hours that one finger went numb. I guess when I go for it, I really go for it!

Today, I assembled a play tent and crawling tunning for my girls. Thank you Ikea for coming up with great play toys that FRUSTRATE THE PARENTS when trying to assemble it. According to my Kolbe profile, I have lots of energy for fact-finding, and limited energy for assembling and building. Gee, you think? Happily, the kids are now outside, in the tent, in an imaginary, far-away land. Perfect.

 

And to keep us going through the afternoon, we're diving into this book How To Draw Dinosaurs. There should be enough variety to satisfy the T-rex lovers and the velociraptor fans in my family.

Next week is my 500th post, so stay tuned for something exciting!

a good day for making art

I was reflecting today on how anyone, anywhere can make art. Years ago, my Mom and I taught a class in papermaking. It was at a lake-site retreat, with the beauty of nature all around us. We covered the basics of papermaking - making pulp, setting up a papermaking station, pulling sheets, couching on the pad, pressing and drying.

And then it was time to get creative.

We put out the suggestion that the students could now take inspiration from their surroundings and incorporate leaves, grasses and flowers of their liking. My husband John had been lurking on the fringes of the group, but at that point, I invited him to come join us. He agreed and set to work on his own project. I got busy helping other students with their work. Some were embedding flower petals, plucked fresh off their stems. Others were laminating green leaves between two newly-pulled sheets. Still others were layering colored sheets of paper, one on top of another.

After some time, I wandered over to John's station to see what he was up to. To my surprise and delight, he was creating something really special. One three sheets of cotton paper, he had placed whole roses, covered them with a second sheet of cotton paper, and then carefully and selectively pulled away some of the paper to reveal the treasure underneath. It was the coolest sculptural piece!

That moment stands out in my mind, because it demonstrated so clearly what can happen when you park your artistic inhibitions, rules and "musts" at the door and just get into a project.

John didn't have an artistic background, but he had a moment of inspiration and went for it. When the pieces dried, he had a fantastic piece of art, which to this day, hangs framed in his office, a testiment to how anyone can create art.

What are you doing today? Go make some art!

Gift wrapping & New Year's plans

After a brief and restful hiatus from normal life, we're getting back into the swing of things including work and regular exercise and eating normally (if I can remember what that is!).

While I was wrapping gifts last weekend, I found a number of great sites for gift wrapping and gift tags. I'm documenting them now, in case you still have some New Year's gifts to hand out, and as a reference for next year.

Blueprint print-your-own black and white wrapping paper and tags. I used these templates together with gold wrapping paper (see right) and was delighted with the results. This paper would also be wonderful for Valentine's Day, paired with red or pink tissue paper.

I needed some fun and festive tags for my daughter's gifts so these tags were great, so were these gift adornments.

And with Christmas over, my thoughts are on New Year's Eve. It's our turn to host this year, and my husband and I are considering this Menu #3, provided that we can pull everything together over the weekend (Monday is a work day).

And for New Year's Eve favors, what better than a Plantable Greeting Card set, to equip our guests up for any special occasion in the new year.

Winterland Crafts

It's a winter wonderland around here, and with the gentle snow falling, I find myself in a mood for crafting. This baby bootie knitting project
is perfect for a snowy winter's day. It's an easy project that gives rapid gratification; when it comes to knitting, I love the small, doable projects like booties, dishclothes and tea cozies.

Papermaking is also a wonderful afternoon's project for kids and adults alike. Check out this papermaking kit that even includes a video. And the Encyclopedia of Papermaking and Bookbinding will inspire you on a winter's day.

Get organized clip-art and templates

Being both a paper person and someone who loves the *idea* of being organized, I like these clip-art freezer labels from the folks at Martha Stewart. Just print them onto label stock, trim and then affix them to everything that you put in the freezer.

Speaking of clip-art, I also like the DIY Planner pages that allow you to print and create your own daytimer, for free! I used the DIY Planner system for a long time, before switching to the new Moleskine 18 month weekly planner notebook.

To get organized for the holidays, you can't beat the Holiday Grandplan, an 18-week plan to prepare for the holidays in December. There are tons of free downloadable templates, shopping lists, planning charts and more.

Finally, I stay organized around the house thanks to FlyLady, that paragon of homely preparation and organization who encourages us to tackle our homes in baby steps. Love her!

Do you have a favorite organization website or clip-art source that you'd like to share? Let us know - we'd love to hear from you!