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!

Fun stuff coming up...

I just signed up to take Danita's Mixed Media From the Heart e-course! Oh boy! I am so excited about this course. I am hoping that it will get the ball rolling for me to get some new paintings in the works. It is not that I am in a funk, it is just that I am always finding so many other things are more important to take care of than creating these days. I think having the kids home from school for the summer is part of it. I see them getting antsy or bored and then the pool, library or local trampoline park sounds like more fun than seeing their sad faces or hearing them ask to watch tv!

Danita is such an inspiration. She is a mom and a very successful mixed media artist. Her etsy shop is jam packed full of fun whimsical art. I can relate to her art because she has that whimsical style and childlike subject matter which I tend to focus mine on as well. I do hope to learn some of her tips and tricks on painting faces and more background techniques.

I'll keep you updated on how it is going as I journey through this course. I am so excited to get started. I believe there is still room in the class... so join us if you would like!

Happy painting!

Fine Art Prints Now In The Shop!

Summer has started off with a bang! I have been so busy with kids and life that I haven't had the opportunity to add to my shop in a while. Well, today I was able to carve out some time to make it happen. I am excited to now have a few new fine art prints for sale in my shop.

Come and get a closer look here and check out what else is in store!

And psst... I am working on two more to add in the next day or so... so check back! 

Organizing Frenzy...

Having the kids home from school for the summer has brought up a few tasks that I have let fall to the wayside. They have a "game closet" that went from organized to complete catch-all disaster. It used to be something that you could walk in to. So, I have begun my quest to organize their things, closets, clothes, etc. That closet looks amazing, I must say.

This has created a domino effect on other areas in my life. I have big plans for their clothes next because they have grown out of many of the ones still residing in their drawers. (And my son doesn't seem to want to stop wearing some of his old favorites which can only be stopped by banishing them to the goodwill pile)

But before I get to that, the other day I looked over at my art desk and gasped. "That is what must come next!" I told myself. How else am I going to get moving on getting more stuff in my etsy shop with a desk like that? I should have taken a before photo, but that would only be very embarrassing for me to post. I did however take after photos because I am so delighted with the outcome of my organizing frenzy.

And viola!!...

This is my little artsy alcove. All organized and labeled.

This wooden 18 drawer shelf is brand new (to me). I just purchased it from a fantastic shop called The Embellished House. One of my favorite little antique shops near by. They had a warehouse sale the other day and I got the shelf for only $37.50! What a bargain!!

So to let you in on my labeling secret... I follow a blog by Cathe Holden. She is so talented and generous. I downloaded all my labels from her site which really cut down on the time it would have taken for me to create my own. I knew I wanted something a bit fancy and these were just the right look. Click on her name for the link if you are interested as well.

This little table is at the end of my art desk for those times that the kiddos want to take part in creating as well... which is most of the time.

I am a little late on the spring cleaning, but summer seems to afford me more time to get it done in. 

Now I can enjoy that space again!!