I confess.
I am addicted to online art classes.
It's a wonderful thing to have access to
infinity
in
learning from artists.
Her
Woodland Girls class for the fall season was particularly enjoyable.
Over Christmas break, I sketched and painted
the "woodland girl"
above.
My youngest peeks at my work
and
decides that she wants to make a girl too.
She begins to sketch in her new sketch book.
Immediately, she is frustrated
because her girl doesn't look like mine
especially her nose and eyes.
"Oh," I said, "but yours looks like Picasso."
"What is Picasso?" she asks.
I tell her that while lots of Picasso's work doesn't look like real life,
he is one of the most successful and recognized artists of all time.
I told her that he had respect for
the art of a child
and tried to remain like a child in his creating.
So we go to Pinterest and look up Picasso's work
some of which "freaked her out"
and I agreed.
But some of it, we both enjoyed and appreciated.
"That is WEIRD!" she says about several.
"But I like this..."
Before I know it, she has ripped several pages out of her sketchbook,
hammered in some staples,
and proceeds to scrawl a title across the first page.
My prakdes Picasso ART BOOK!
{practice}
"I want to make a book like you do," she tells me.
"When you tape a picture on one page and make it on the next page."
We take a look at my Studying Under The Masters art journal
when I was learning about Picasso.
We select some Picasso work from Pinterest
and put together her practice Picasso art book.
Here is what she did:
We talked about
how it never looks exactly like the original artist
and it shouldn't
but
we can see where the inspiration comes from.
And about
adding our own personal style.
About how we try new
tools
and
lines
and
design
when
we are learning
and
practicing
from another artist.
She learned above that charcoal can be messy
and so sketching with a pencil first and adding bold lines at the end
might be better.
OR you can make bold lines with
a permanent marker
and then fill in the color
like this one below.
We talked about
how we
discover
new things
we can use in our own art
that we never would've discovered
without looking at the work of another artist.
I'm trying to get out of my own boxes.
Adding sketches to my collage.
Learning about
shading
value
faces
expression
and
the
barely used box of oil paint sticks
that
I was too afraid to try.
And I find that she watches me.
She learns.
To learn.
I find that when I learn the personal journey and story
of an artist,
I appreciate their work
and the
storytelling that they do
with
art.
Sometimes I don't like parts of the story an artist is telling.
But should they only tell the likable parts?
It is a question I have been thinking about
as I study artists
and their work
that I would never hang in my home
or choose to look at on a regular basis.
As I hear and read and explore
an artist's journey
I see that
observing their work
is like reading an autobiography
or having a
conversation.
Some parts are pleasant,
some I identify with,
some parts are difficult to walk through,
some cause outright joy,
and some express
agony.
I am
learning more and more
that art more than technique
but is a
language
for
communication.
Not simply about making something beautiful for the wall
although
that can be a result.
Not all commmunication
hangs on a wall.
But about
processing.
Working through life.
Expressing emotion
triumph and tragedy.
Walking through unanswered questions
and daring to ask
them
in
art.
It can be a place to acknowledge
what my soul
needs to express.
Even if it never seen by another.
Sometimes
only
a
few.
My daughter catches on.
As she observes my process
sometimes from a distance
and sometimes with her little nose
pressed right into my space.
Wanting to do the same.
Things caught.
Rather than specifically taught.
To learn more and join Jeanne Oliver's art classes,
which are taught via online videos,
This week she launched
which is a walk in discovering your identity in Christ
through the personal stories and creative projects
of twenty-one women over the next few weeks.
This one is FREE.
The class above in which I learned about
*
Here is information about my next art class coming up on January 31, 2015:
Building Blocks: mixed media basics
Saturday, January 31, 2015
9:00-Noon
at Create!Studio, Rapid City, SD
Let's get basic and build some mini-blocks with meaningful words!
This class will be perfect for beginners.
We will create 3 pieces of chunky art on 4x4 inch blocks of wood
and learn some basic how-to's of collage and paint.
We will use some fun and funky objects
like buttons, wire, and charms to add whimsy and meaning.
I will provide inspiration, quotes, sayings and verses, and all art supplies.
OPTIONAL: You may bring your favorite quotes printed to use if you'd like as well as your own papers/photos/memorabilia that you might like to use. Keep in mind the blocks are only 4x4 inch.
REGISTER: call Renae Meisner at 431-8870 and leave a message.
All classes are to be paid for at the time of registration.
Tax will be added (6%) to all classes
Registration: $50 + tax
Space limited to 12 people.
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