On to the next adventure in mixed media...

The Mixed Media from the Heart e-course has come to an end... sigh... It was such a wonderful experience that I have gained so much from. I not only learned a TON from Danita, but I'm so lucky to be a part of a wonderful community of such talented artists from all around the world that is there to support me in my journey through a facebook group. It is fantastic!

Here is a photo from a painting that I made during the course. You may remember the background from an earlier post. If not, check it out here.

So, now I am packing up my supplies for my next adventure in mixed media art. I will begin my classes at Art Unraveled tomorrow. For those of you that don't know, Art Unraveled is an art retreat that is held here in Phoenix, Arizona once a year. (In August!! Of all the times to be in the desert!!) But I don't mind since I live here. It is fantastic for me :)

This is what I have made for the name badge competition. Art Unraveled is on its 10th year. So my idea really focused on time flying. 

Phoenix in August - AU 10 Years

My first class is taught by Jane Lafazio. She taught a class I took last year and I loved her. So I just had to take another from her this year. She is just so sweet and very knowledgeable. It will be a fun time. The class is on monoprinting using gel plates and transparent color. Hopefully I will have a beautiful piece to show you when I get finished tomorrow. But to give you an idea of what it is like, here is a monoprinted art quilt that I bought from Jane at last years Art Unraveled shopping day. It is called Poe and I adore it! All the more reason to learn this technique, right?

I will try my best to take lots of photos from my classes and share them as I go. I am usually pretty beat when I get home each day, so I cannot make any promises.

I am so excited to get started! I hope to see some of you there!!

Hey, Hey! It's My Birthday!!

I am having such a great morning with my family, so I am going to make this short. My day started out by me sleeping in a bit, being given warm birthday hugs and kisses and piping hot blueberry pancakes and bacon. My husband makes the BEST pancakes in all the land!! Now I am getting a little "me" time at the computer. So far... such a great day!!

I haven't posted in a while and thought that an in-progress update was in order. I have been plugging away at my online class and having such a fantastic time doing it. If you haven't ever taken an online class before, I totally recommend you give it a try. The sense of community alone is worth the experience!

Here are some photos to show more of the work that I have done in this class. Enjoy!!

A few art journal pages:

Some pages from my sketchbook:

(We have been working on faces)

I have one more week of this course and then Art Unraveled begins the first week of August! 

I am so excited! I love all this creative time I am getting. I could get used to this!!

Love,

Shannon

Week 2 of Mixed Media from the Heart...

Wow! I am having such a wonderful time learning and playing in this e-course! Sometimes it is just nice to have someone tell you what to do to get out of your own head a bit. Danita, as well as the other students taking the class, have been so fabulous at giving feedback on our posts to the group facebook page. I guess that is what makes it feel like a classroom setting despite not having the other students next to you. This is my first online art class, so you can see that I am just now figuring all this out.

I could go on and on about how wonderful the class is and how much I am enjoying the projects. But I won't bore you with all that. Here are some photos of my handmade stamps as well as two of the backgrounds that I have made for the class this week. Enjoy!

Hand carved girly stamp and tiny O - 

I didn't like the material I was carving on here. It was crumbly and a few pieces came off when I wasn't intending them to. I believe it was called Speedy-cut by Speedball.

 Hand carved feather and tiny heart - 

Switched to Speedball Speedy-Carve. 

I am much happier with this stuff!

 Here is my first layer of my first background. 

 Another shot of just the first layer. 

I wanted to show how I pulled all the colors from this particular page of my color journal.

 Here is the finished background. 

I believe that we will eventually be adding a figure or some focal image to the 

backgrounds that we are making. :) 

 This is my second background with just the first paper layer. 

Again I pulled from another page of my color journal for the palette. 

 And here is the finished background! I had such a fun time making them. 

I am eager to get started on Week 3!!!

XOXO,

Shannon

Week 1 of Mixed Media From The Heart

Week 1 was condensed into just a few days for me since I was out of town for the whole first week of this course. I have been playing catch up in hopes of being able to start week 2 during the actual second week. I am very thankful that this course is so well organized. It has made it easier to follow along and work for small chunks of time between juggling life and family.

Here are a few photos of the color journal that I have made in my first week. It is an exploration of color and how they draw us into the photos we found, their relation to one another, recognizing groupings that we find pleasing to our eye, as well as vintage washes. I have never kept a color journal before and I look forward to adding to this one and continuing to find more groupings that I can utilize in future paintings. Enjoy!