for the past 6 weeks i have looked forward to my tuesday mornings with my friends susan & laura
we have painted, talked about life, sex, coconut oil (don't ask), relationships...we have learned a lot about ourselves, breaking down the walls and painting intuitively.
they embraced the process and created these beautiful pieces.
we decided we did not want the fun to end
susan is a Yogi (teaches Yoga) and we all thought it might be interesting to see how these two processes merged. after talking with susan we both felt that art and yoga build off of the same core principles.
so we now meet early every tuesday morning at the studio for yoga & painting.
i love it!
i am learning a lot from susan about balance and finding that inner voice. then the 3 of us with open hearts paint intuitively and the bonus is i truly enjoy this time with friends...being real and sharing.
this is where we left off this week.
(for more photos of our 1st session progression click here & our current session here)
the whole idea of stretching your body and your creative boundaries is exciting to me. i am a student of life and i love letting the universe take me down paths uncharted and putting amazing people in my path along the way!
we have been working hard getting the new studio painted and primped just the way we want it (ok, maybe the way i want it, lol). the new space is HUGE, BRIGHT and PERFECT!
let me take you on a little photo tour and tell you about my new happy space!
when you walk in (through the newly turquoise door) to the new studio, on your right is the shop and all of its art and mixed-media goodness.
this is one of my favorite little happy places in the shop...it warranted a shout out :)
to the left and beyond a half wall separating the 2 rooms is the ENORMOUS classroom.
that door in the back of the room leads to a kitchen (YES A KITCHEN!) perfect for our inspired events and serving up Grandma Cookie's homemade delights!
and off the kitchen there is another room we are calling "jenny's room" it has all of our class kit supplies and she makes all of our kits (i forgot to take a pic, lol)
LOOK AT THE LIGHT in these rooms from the big floor to ceiling windows!!!
i cannot express just how perfect this space is for all i want to do!
and if that werent already enough, then there is the gallery!
a long wrap around hallway that i intend to fill with my original art. (i am opting to see the fire extinguisher as an art installation)
the 2 brown doors with the poppies are the bathrooms (i have really awesome plans for those but they are not ready yet)
here is my latest piece that i just added to the wall.
that brown door to the right is one of 2 entrances to the "warehouse" (the other door open in from the shop side by the checkout), this is where the "business" side of the studio happens...stock, shipping, office, etc.
this is the view from across the street, see that awning to the far right of the photo? that was were we moved from.
still a lot of little details to work on including altering that green round awning over the door. i want to sew several different coordinated outdoor fabrics in a patchwork style to it and then put it back up.
i would also like to paint artwork on the 2 large rectangular empty panels to the left and right of the sign. have to convince my landlord first though, lol!
hope to see you in the studio soon! can you say, "ROAD TRIP!!"
i know i haven't been blogging as regularly lately...but just give me till this weekend and i promise i will be back at it again.
the good news is, i have been the "good-kind" of busy...launching a new website, moving into the NEW STUDIO this weekend and i have just come back from CHA and the release of my new product line (which should be shipping in a couple weeks)
in addition we also launched my NEW EVENT series internationally inspired before heading out to CHA and i have gotten a lot of questions about the new workshop and i thought if a few of you emailing me had questions most likely many of you are wondering the same things...
so i thought a little Q & A would be...FUN!
i will start with the ones i have gotten and then feel free to add any ones i haven't addressed in the comments.
here goes...
Q - when does the workshop start?
A - immediately, registration is open and you can sign up right now. Just like all of my online classes, internationally INSPIRED workshop is completely downloadable & self paced. this video workshop includes a 1.5-2 hour video from each of the 5 of the featured artists, project photos and full supply lists.
Q - how long will the classroom/workshops be accessible?
A - this is a 2 part answer. technically we plan to allow access to the classroom for the next 6 months. in the virtual classroom we will offer a streaming video option so that you can watch the video just by accessing the classroom alone. HOWEVER, we are also providing a link to allow the students to download each of teachers individual videos to their computers directly, therefore, making the video yours and available to watch FOREVER. so that said you could download all 5 videos to your computer, watch them anytime and they NEVER EXPIRE.
Q - how do i gain access to the classroom?
A - after purchasing the workshop you will immediately be emailed the link to download the workshop pdf. the pdf contains your unique link access to the classroom.
Q - i can only see donna's video, how do i access the other artists videos?
A - because i am the first artist listed, my video appears on the classroom landing page first. you can access each artists video, supplies list, bio, email and video download by simply clicking on each artists icon photo. (see image below of classroom and artist icon links)
Q - i can only see half the video when i push play and i cannot stop or pause the video once i push play. what am i doing wrong?
A - no worries, just use the scroll bar to the right side of the classroom page to scroll down a bit so that the whole video is on your screen. the large video image will appear partially below your viewing space when you enter the classroom. once you scroll down you will be able to view the whole video and the play/stop/pause button at the bottom left. (see image below)
Q - how do i download the video?
A - to the bottom right of each artist video you will see an orange download link, simply click the link and download to your computer and it is yours FOREVER! (see above photo)
Q - the workshop states there is a supplies list for each artist's workshop, are there more supplies used than just whats in the kit?
A - yes. each artist was sent the same core kit of supplies (see here **KITS have sold out but you can still purchase each individual product here) and were asked to use every item in the kit in some way in their project. However, they were not limited to the supplies in the kit...meaning they were allowed to use any other products they wanted in addition to the kit supplies and that list of additional products is included also as a downloadable link below the video.
Q - do i need to buy the kit to take the workshop?
A - absolutely not. the workshop can stand alone and is FILLED with dozens of cool techniques, product tricks and innovative & creative ideas from a hand-picked group of incredibly talented artists. Apply the techniques to the products in your own personal stash, create your own book or buy the kit and make one along side the artists, the choice is up to you.
Q - can i pick and choose products from the kit i would like to buy? can i buy multiples of certain products?
A - yes. we have made the kit available to make it easy for those that wanted to "one-stop-shop", however, we sell all the products in the kit in our shop on our website and you can pick and choose the quantity and the individual products you would like to use.
here's a little video intro about the workshop...
your not going to want to miss creating along side these incredible artists and wealth of techniques and insight shared in this workshop...
she is just so flippin' cool, real, talented and funny! we are only 2 days in and there are still 2 more days of amazing creativity and artwork left! i thought i would tease you with a sneak peek of the fun we have been having this weekend!
I want to introduce you to a talented designer Maria McGuire. She used products from the studio and rocked out some stunning projects! With Valentine's day right around the corner I thought this was the perfect tag to share first.
Tag was painted with watered down Americana Paint.
The Crafter's Workshop Stencil was placed on the bottom half of the tag and the entire tag was sprayed with Graphite Glimmer Mist. The excess was blotted off with a paper towel.
A Heart was hand drawn on a piece of chipboard and cut out.
Washi tape was torn and randomly put on the chipboard heart.
The excess was cut away. A Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen was used to color over the heart and immediately wiped away to leave a distressed look.
The edges of the tag were inked with Distress Ink in Black Soot. The Pitt Pen was also used to outline the edges of the heart.
Using VersaMark and Silver Embossing Powder the Stamp was stamped on the tag.
Using an excess piece of tag, a 1/2" paper punch was used to cut circles for the bottle caps which fit PERFECTLY! The word love was stamped with a old letter set on the circles. Glimmer Glam was painted over the letters and allowed to dry. Glossy Accents was used to adhere the letters in the caps and then a layer was put over the letters and allowed to dry.
Two more hearts were hand drawn and cut out. Washi Tape was again randomly placed on the hearts, but this time only outlined and not distressed. The hearts were adhered with pop dots.
last week i spent the day "gutting" my studio...after a while i seem to end up with my counter space cluttered with stuff and i really wanted to get it better organized which meant clearing out a lot of drawers and simply re thinking how i am organizing my supplies.
i figure, if i haven't used it in the past 3 years, chances are i am not going to in the next 3. so 1) it doesn't need to occupy prime real estate in my room and 2) it may need to be purged.
not that my room looks much different now, but it is a bit more cleaner.
my favorite redo in the room, my fabric wall! check it out!
just 3 ikea bars, ikea clips and a butt load of fabric!
i am the kind of person that can ride the high of an organized fabric wall for a while...incredible HAPPY PLACE!
today i will be in my off-site studio reorganizing.
right now it is in shambles because i get these twinges to reorganize and i obsess, make an enormous mess tearing it apart and then put it all back together again. if you stop by the studio today you may have to turn a blind eye (and forage for the product you wanted to buy, lol!)
anytime you do something for the first time...its exciting, scary, exhilarating.
the tables were set.
the supplies were ready.
and the handmade personal touches i really wanted to give were in place.
then you wait. wait for the students. wait for their excitement and wait for their excitement to only multiply your emotions 10-fold.
every event has a dynamic, its own personal and intimate energy about it.
the energy is nothing you can plan for or define, it is unique to the 20 woman that participate in the creative exchange of ideas and contribute to the stories that carve out the journey we all take together throughout the weekend.
to watch these 20 beautiful woman begin on thursday with a portfolio of blank pages in hand and end the weekend with the bound piece of artwork is like the best feeling i have ever experienced.
i have never been able to spend 4 days building, guiding and watching the creative process unfold in the hands of others...i am not kidding when i say it is magic.
my first instruction...
make as many mistakes as possible but play with everything
that first night, there was literally dozens of pages of mediums, gels, textures, colors and pastes everywhere! it was awesome!
the idea that they didnt have to know what they were creating and that they could just play knowing that their creativity would evolve and unfold if they just opened them selves up to it over the course of the weekend was LIBERATING!
and by the last day....forever friends and creative counterparts!
Many of you have met Melissa, she is our fabulous studio manager at donna downey studios. Today is her birthday and since we are away and can't celebrate it with her we thought it would be fun to have a virtual party for her on the blog!
