No Photos Again!

I just can't seem to get my head around the need to take photos when I give a class. This afternoon I again spent some time with the TAPS people and the students from Wildflower. I was so busy talking and teaching that taking photos completely slipped my mind.

I can, however, show you the pieces I did to prepare for the 'class' and outline what was done.

When I first started teaching beginner art, I used the 'basic shapes' method to show people how to draw. People seem to get bogged down and I often heard things like 'I can't draw a circle' or 'I can't draw a straight line'. My response? "Can you print the alphabet?" Thus was born my version of "Alphabet Art".

Life on the Prairies

 Except for the rolling hills, everything in the above picture was drawn using these letters: H, L, B, V, O, T, A (with out the cross bar) and I.

Life in the Valley

For this picture I added a row of K's to make the mountains in the background. I also took an unfair advantage when drawing the barn because I couldn't think of a letter that would give me the right shape. For those of you shaking your head's, in some cases you need to turn the paper sideways to get the right effect.

Life in the City

Today I started by showing everyone how they could draw certain subjects - houses, trees, bushes, windows and doors. Once they all had the idea I invited them to draw a picture of where they grew up or the best place they ever lived and to share their stories with the group. I spent the rest of my time visiting, listening to their stories and offering suggestions of things to add to their drawings (it surprised me to see a few outhouses in some of the pictures- lol). Everyone seemed to have a great time and it was nice to bring back some memories to some of the seniors.

After seeing that some of the kids put stick figures in their drawings I added a few more letters to the lesson.

Not the best photo but I hope you get the idea. The boy starts with an H for his body, V's for the arms, O for the head, and W for the legs. The girl starts with an X and the rest is the same.

Of course, the letters get a bit distorted and the final result is tidied up but the basics are simply letters that we use everyday. I hope this encourages you to think up your own drawings based on the alphabet and if you do please share them!

Nothing Ventured

As an artist in a small rural community, I have found that there are not a lot of venues for selling art. When I saw an ad about the Monthly Pop-Up Mall, I thought I would give it a try.

 Jewellery, interesting bookmarks, tea boxes and soap balls down this aisle.

my table

 'It Works' products for detoxing, revitalizing and more, and the apple seller

Essential Oils, and Epicure with a mystery product in the middle - lol!

Leslie's table

 Leslie is a fellow artist with lovely painted glass products, mostly wine glasses.

Scentsy, Avon and Mary Kay down this side - scent like crazy! There were more that I didn't get pictures of but you get the idea.

The Pop-Up mall is organized for home-based and small businesses to showcase their wares and to let people know they are around. There were 25 vendors with everything from Tupperware to Essential Oils; there was also an orchardist with boxes and boxes of apples and apple juice to sell. This is a new venture and many of the residents of the area are not aware of its existence so visitor numbers were low.

One has to expect that start-ups will take a while to prosper and vendors need to give it time to attract the public’s eye. However, after watching what people were buying and which tables they spent the most time at, I decided that the Pop-Up Mall is not for me. I spent an uncomfortable day amid strong scents from soaps, perfumes and an essential oil diffuser and only made a bit more than my costs.

Although I do not consider my day at this market a success, I figure "Nothing ventured, nothing gained".

Quilling Workshop

I remembered to take photos! Many of them didn't turn out as I was in too much of a hurry but one of the ladies kindly shared her pics which were much better.

Carol's card

Joanne's card

Jeanne's card

Eileen's card

Carrie's card

Carolyn's card

Eleanor's card

Unfortunately, we didn't get a good photo of Vicki's card and many of them were not finished as we were running out of time and I wanted everyone to have a chance to work on another project.

There were 8 participants which makes for a nice sized class, giving me time to check with and help everyone as needed. I supplied all of the materials and had a number of samples to use as guides. Here are more pics:

Vicki working on a butterfly

Carrie working on her flower

Eileen working on her flower

Carol, Joanne and Jeanne

Carolyn working on her flower

Eleanor working on her flower

I should have planned a longer workshop as everyone had to take their second projects home to finish. Fortunately, most of the participants are Art Club members so getting things back won't be a problem. Everyone seemed to have a good time and most were very happy with what they created so I guess the workshop was a success.

Now I have to get to work figuring out what to take for my table at -

This is a new venture for Creston and my first time as a vendor with them. Let's hope that the day is worthwhile because it has been a slow winter with sales.

I will let you know and, hopefully, have photos lol!

A New Month - A New Challenge

I didn't think it would be a challenge but was I ever wrong!

Yesterday I did a mini workshop on card making with paper flowers and quilling for the Creston TAPS group. TAPS is Therapeutic Activation Program for Seniors and it is a great organization to help get seniors out of their homes and active. For the last few years they have had a program where elementary school students join the seniors for some of their events and yesterday was one of those times.

I thought I was prepared! I had a variety of flower parts in various colors cut out and some extras, like butterflies, hearts and stars.

I had some of my painted papers available for those who wanted to use them.

I had blank cards, quilling paper, glue, paper-towels, scissors and everything I could think of that we would need. I also had a number of my own finished cards to show people what they could accomplish.

The lady who asked me to do the workshop told me there would probably be 6 adults and some students participating in the 'art project'. I figured one student for every adult to help and to share - no problem!

Was I ever wrong! A whole classroom of students arrived, happy and noisy, many of them determined to get in on the art. All of a sudden, instead of the twelve I expected, I had closer to twenty people sitting at the art tables. I was definitely overwhelmed. Fortunately, 3 ladies were there to help or I would have possibly committed some serious offences; swearing, screaming or crying to name a few. At any rate, for an hour and 15 minutes I bounced from table to table, side to side, constantly talking, demonstrating, helping and making suggestions. I was so focused on the card making that I didn't even have time to take photos.

I will try to do better in 2 weeks when I do a mini workshop about 'drawing one of the places we lived' using alphabet art.

2016 January Challenge - the end!

To finish off the 30 Paintings in 30 Days most of us will do a collage of our work. It is a good way to see where you have been and what progress - if any - has been made.

January 2016 Collage

My plan for the challenge was to work primarily in acrylics with a few quilled pieces added for variety - mission accomplished. Over the month I revisited an number of subjects that I haven't done for a few years -  flowers and birds. I also reaffirmed my dislike of still-life paintings. One of the things I learned is that I can create a similar look with a brush that I create with the palette knife and it is easier - lol.

It has been great following the work of some of the other artists in the challenge and having them follow mine. The support and encouragement from such talented people is wonderful and so greatly appreciated.

I look forward to seeing more wonderful art from these new 'friends'. I want to thank Leslie Saeta for hosting these challenges that help to inspire us to greater  heights.

2016 Day 30

Well here it is! The end of the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenges hosted by Leslie Saeta. My final painting continues the flower theme with a reference from my garden.

Purple Cone Flowers

Once again I have used watercolor paper with my acrylic paints, letting the colors mix a bit on the paper so there is a wide variety of shades in the petals. I like the soft distant background and think it makes a nice balance with the sharp petals and stronger colors of the foreground

"Purple Cone Flowers" is an unframed 7 x 10 acrylic on watercolor paper.


The challenge has been an adventure. I learned a number of things and stepped out of my comfort zone a few times. The beginning of the month was rather frantic as I had a number of commitments and had to fit the painting and blogging in when I could. I cursed myself a number of time for joining the challenge but I feel that I managed to pull through and acquit myself with reasonable style.

It is always wonderful to see the work of other artists and find new artists to follow. I hope those who checked out my blog enjoyed my work and I hope that they will add my blog to their email list so they can follow me all the time.

2016 Day 29

Since my friend Linda visited, I have been on a flower 'kick' and today's painting is once again a flower.

Big and Bold (Sunflower)

I used to paint flowers all the time, especially in the winter. I think they were an antidote to the grey skies we get here and they were always cheering. In the last few years I have done fewer flowers, so each time I do one it is almost like starting over. I think each different subject an artist tackles needs a different mind set and technique. Or, like this piece, a different approach depending on the mood, the surface and the ultimate goal.

"Big and Bold" is acrylic on a 5 x 7 gallery wrap canvas.

Only one more day to go!