Watercolor Journaling Class on the Island of Syros, Greece

I will be teaching Watercolor Journaling in Greece on the island of Syros. This class is offered through the American College of Healthcare Sciences, May 27 – June 2, 2011.

A lot of people enjoy writing in journals, taking field notes, collecting memorabilia and souvenirs of their travels, and drawing little sketches of their journeys. I call this art journaling but I take it a step further and incorporate watercolor with my art journals.

Watercolor journaling is a wonderful way to slow down and savor the moment, recording your journey in a unique and memorable way. With your journal under your arm and a few painting supplies, you will be ready to capture memories of your Greek Island experiences. This dynamic class will motivate artists of all skill levels to record their journeys in a creative and unique way using watercolor and mixed media.  Students will explore ways to make their watercolor travel journal interesting and reflective of their experiences through painting the Greek landscape and the essence of the Greek lifestyle.  Some of the techniques I will be teaching include watercolor painting, drawing, color theory, incorporating mixed media and how to make quick-on the go-watercolor sketches.

This class is still open for registration, so click here to sign up!  As always, I enjoy your comments.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

"Why Shouldn't Art be Pretty" a Peek inside my Watercolor Journal

 "Why shouldn't art be pretty?  There are enough unpleasant things in the world."  This is one of my favorite quotes by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.  My goal is to make my art pretty and to bring happiness to those that see it.

"Life is a Journey" - a peek inside my Watercolor Journal

"Life is a Journey, Not a Guided Tour", author unknown.  This quote really speaks to me as you never know what will come your way.  I think it also makes me want to be more adventurous.  What does it say to you?

The Art Box Group

THE ART BOX GROUP, FIRST MEETING
My curiosity was piqued after receiving an email invitation to join an Art Box Group last September from someone I had met in an art class. All we were told was to show up at the first meeting with a box. I brought a wooden cigar box. Our coordinator, Candace, explained that we would be meeting once a month and we would rotate boxes at each meeting so that everyone would get a chance to work on everyone else's box. The only box we would not work on would be our own. Candace was well organized and had a spreadsheet prepared with the box rotations. There were seven women involved in this adventure. Some of us were known artists and art teachers in Bend, Oregon and some were lovers of paint, glue and scissors and the mixed media world. Others did not feel very artistic. One lady owned a beauty salon and her form of art was what she practiced everyday. We all felt challenged! I knew 4 of the women in the Art Box Group. But we soon got to know each other better because we started telling about our lives and favorite things giving clues to how to proceed to decorate, change and embellish the boxes. That night we left with the instructions from our fearless leader, Candace, that we were entering the construction phase of the Art Box Adventure. We were to open up, change and morph the box into a new design and meet back in a month to rotate boxes. The box I took home was your standard got-something-from-UPS box, not too big, cardboard-ugly and a little dented. I am including a photo of what I did to this box. I will be posting more photos and stories about the how the Art Boxes evolved on this blog shortly.