Happy New Year! Keep an Art Journal for 2012

There are so many, many free or nearly free online art classes that I may have OD’d. Over done it I mean. Here is where I am so far:

Kelly Kilmer’s – Revel in the Moment - $25.00

I have already started this class. I made a new journal just for this class using some canvas paintings I did last fall. I padded and stitched through the canvas to add texture and then bound two separate paintings together for a front and back cover.

Front Cover - Revel in the Moment Class

For some reason, Kelly’s classes hit me right where it counts and I got so motivated, I couldn’t wait to finish the cover so I made pages in a smaller, unfinished journal made last summer.

Shopping for Shoes

Bird on a Bodice

Moving On

As you can see there is no journaling on these pages as yet – what there is for me to notice is that I am not ready to fully reveal myself through my writing – Get over it Lori!

 Next Class – Strathmore – Free

Strathmore is of course selling their visual journal line. However they are doing it in a very generous and top-notch sort of way. They have a line up of artists that teach a class with printed lessons and videos for one month each. The first teacher is Traci Bautista, who has a soon to be released new book Doodles Unleashed!

I started looking at the first video and decided I had to – had to – rig up one of my computers in my studio so I could watch all these class videos right where I would be working.  So I went downstairs and while looking around for where to put the computer decided I also needed to install one more shelf. Thus distracting myself for another entire afternoon moving supplies, painting a shelf and installing it. Once again I left a huge mess in the studio overnight while the shelf did it’s final drying.

New shelf installed, old shelf moved down, mess intact.

This post is getting long so I will just make a list of links to the other classes I am signed up for in my almost down time January to March. Well yes, I am laughing at myself, don’t want to cry.

More Online Classes

Mary Ann Moss – Remains of the Day - $45.00 I have been watching this class for a couple of years and finally feel like I have enough material and paper scraps that this one will actually help me clear some stuff out

A.R.T. Artists of the Roundtable - Creating Handmade Books Workshop – You will have to join (free) this online group and purchase the book by Alisa Golden for around $12.00

Round of Words – FREE – A writing challenge – starts today January 2 (you can start late) free.

Organization Week – Julie Fei-Fan Balzer – I believe this will be a series of organizing ideas and examples running for a week. I got so jazzed with her start up message that I have already been organizing like a maniac.

Then there is the Postcard swappie-thingy ala Griffin and Sabine, and the chunky book swap…and-and-and……….

There are several more classes I am considering that start later in the year. I need to see if I can keep up with these and if I can continue to work in my studio once the weather begins to be human again.

Now I am going to stop – for one thing I can’t find my list of classes and the other thing? This post is going on too long….

One last HAPPY NEW YEAR from me!