Another Review, Matt from the Virtual Instructor

Good morning, from NY, on this dismal rainy day!

A few days ago, I found the virtual instructor on youtube. I was able to draw a nose and eyes for the first time in my life, ones that actually looked like a nose and eye. I did it by following the instructions from Matt at http://thevirtualinstructor.com/ - and it is well worth a mosey on over there!!

Matt offers lots and lots of free instruction, and if you join his site for a ridiculously low amount like $3 and change a month, you get access to some of the best instruction I have found. "The Secrets of Drawing" is incredible - it deals with everything from perspective to figure drawing. And I must say, this is the first time I "get" perspective! The instruction is top notch and very clear, which makes me tend to believe that Matt had to learn to draw like many of us mortals do. I think born artists have a much harder time teaching how they do what they do, do you agree?

So I have been drawing, drawing, drawing this week. This is one of the best values I have found for the money so far, and I am very happy to recommend this site to you!

Drawing Practice

I am not a natural artist, as in I cannot draw. Really. I have tried for years. I have bought every book, tried every tutorial, and I still draw and paint like an 8 year old. But I decided to just play with it. I ordered another workshop, this one by Janr Davenport called "Draw Happy," and this one was well with the money. Davenport as you first draw simple little faces, and then progress from there. The face I have shown is halfway done, and it is on very bad paper, so I am doing them over. The eye is from another free tutorial, and I was amazed I was able to do as well (for me!) as I did. Bravo, teachers! Good job!!

Eye tutorial:

http://www.stars-portraits.com/en/tutorial/drawing-eye.html

Jane Davenport's site:

http://www.janedavenport.com/workshops/joynal-creating-your-own-fairy-tale/

Another Review of 21 Secrets Art Journaling Workshop

More reviews of 21 Secrets

One of my frustrations with these classes is that everyone has a list of supplies a yard  long, and each author goes into long explanations of what they use, and why. It would be more useful if one person made a video about journals and usual supplies, then each artist simply add their favorites in a short video. OK, more reviews.

Acceptional Art, by Kitty O, is about accepting where each of us is in our art journeys. That sounds wonderful, doesn't it? But I never got that from the class. The class opens with a video of the artist being cute, making faces, wearing accessories, to some music about 21 Secrets. Yes, it's cute, but not what people are paying for. I thought that I had wasted my time when I saw that. The big lesson is about ripping up pictures from things important in childhood and gluing them into the journal. I honestly was very disappointed in these lessons. Perhaps the concept should be developed further before inclusion in a paying class.

I enjoyed Danielle Daniel's class "Unearthing," not for the concept, which I found hard to put into effect, but for the technical instruction. She actually explains how to construct designs, which is very helpful! She also has a professional tone, and I found her easy and pleasant to listen to. The concept of unearthing your dreams for inspiration was difficult for me to do, as I have crazy, jumbled dreams, and they usually involve me fleeing water, so I am not sure how I want to use them in my art! Not her fault, of course, just not a good fit for me. 

The name of Jodi Ohl's topic "Diary of a Highly Effective But Inconsisent (sp) Journaler," bugged me for two reasons: the first was that I don't like self-congratulation. And the second had the English teacher that I am twitching: do NOT spell the title wrong when you are getting paid for a workshop. I am assuming the owner of the blog, Connie Hozvicka, put the subtitles in, and of course mistakes do happen, but she misspelled the title of Ohl's workshop. This is a paid product, not a free blog: it's like Tolstoy's editor spelling his masterpiece "War and Peaze." Please, people! Can you be professional??? I tell my students all of the time, if they cannot even spell their titles correctly, no one is going to take them seriously. I paid real money for these workshops, so I would have appreciated a real editor!

OK, rant over. The workshop was actually very good. Jodi Ohl is a very talented artist, and her journals were inspiring. She is a talented teacher and she gave lots of direct instruction. Definitely one of the better workshops offered. Dreaming In Color, which sells LuminArte products including the glorious Twinkle H2O watercolors and silks Acrylic Glazes, has another workshop by Ohl, the Twinkles on Yupo. I may purchase and review that.

Look for reviews of the Twinkle H2O paints and the Silk Acrylic Glazes soon! Also, I plan to purchase and review a workshop by Dina Wakley, "Masterful Art Journaling." It is supposed to be excellent, and as it is quite pricey at $65, I would like to see if it is worth the cost.

Be well, and create!

Review of Art Journaling Workshops

Reviews of Art Journaling Classes Workshops

I have recently gotten excited about art journaling, which I never expected. I like that it is a low risk venture, that the worst you do is ruin a page. Now that I am selling my pottery and jewelry, they have become more of a worry, in some ways, rather than just a relaxation. So I signed up for some workshops. Some are great, and, I am sorry to say, some are a huge disappointment.

21 Secrets was the first one I signed up for. It is offered by Dirty Footprints Studio. Some of the classes are worthwhile, and some, I felt, were less so. At $59, I felt it was a worthwhile purchase, as there is a lot of good in there. Some of the better classes were the ones offered by Jodi Ohl, Dion Dior and Joanne Sharpe. Just those three made it worth the cost of the class. Some of the others were OK, but I could find better instruction for free on YouTube. I feel that a lot of these classes are geared toward the newer artist, those taking classes for the first time, and compared to the value I have found on classes on Craftsy,com and artistsnetwork.com, these offerings are very weak.

Ro Bruhn's "Flower Power" workshop was unusual, but I didn't find it very practical. Part of the lesson is using disposable plates for flowers. I didn't really see the point. I didn't feel it was a good use of my time and money.

Tammy Garcia's "WatercolorPlayground" was very basic. Sadly, I could find 20 videos on YouTube that do what she did, and do it with more detail. I wasn't feeling good about that video. Another video that I didn't feel was worth inclusion was "Where The Wild Things Are," by Carissa Paige. It was cute, but we are paying real money for these workshops, so I would like a professional type video and demeanor.

I think what my complaint is about these workshops is that this is a new field, and many people are making "teaching" videos. Yes, they are all talented artists, but not every artist is cut out to be a teacher. Many of the workshops are "cutesy," with sped up videos of the artist in goofy clothes and costumes, and while that is fun, that is not the point. The artists who aspire to this should all study Dion Dior or Joanne Sharpe's workshops for content and production techniques. They are the ones that stood out as being worth the value.

I do feel terrible telling readers that some workshops are not worth the money, but just as an author expects to receive reviews, so should artists who are being paid for their instruction. They need to offer a professional product worth the money. Most workshops online are at least $30, which is much more than most art instruction books, so,their value should be at least equal to what an author offers. Sadly, that appears to not be the case.

Case in point: Connie Hozvicka runs the website that put together 21 Secrets. It is called Dirty Footprints Studio. She also offers a 10 Month course called "Ignite" that helps teachers learn to teach and it's trademark is "Fearless." It is incredibly expensive, and to be brutally honest here, after seeing some of the work she included in "21 Secrets," I would never consider spending the thousands of dollars she charges for the class.

I am going to continue posting reviews of workshops, products, and other interesting things I am finding online. It seems to be a pretty unregulated market, and I would like to help change that.

Some Pottery Just Finished

Great New Book!

Just picked up Zen Doodling by Carolyn Scrace. It is a great book! Lots of inspiration and instruction. Mandalas, and sun and moon mandalas. Borders and Nature doodles. Really good stuff I here!

I can't get over how much I am enjoy art journaling! It is like art when I started three years ago, with no pressure on me. I am having a blast!

Jumping Out of My Skin With Creativity

I am just bursting with creativity! My jewelry and pottery were not cutting it as far as letting me get what was in my head out, so I started art journaling - I never thought Imlike journaling,,because I am not a,fan of messy, collage type papers. But one of my favorite bloggers, Dion Dior does beautiful artwork in her sketchbook/art journal, so I gave it a try. And honestly, I can't wait to paint or draw in it every day! It's not as "big" as pottery or jewelry, so it is not anxiety-causing, aka one more big project on the to-do list. Check out some of the bloggers I have in the side of my page, they are very inspiring!

Ps - I also put a picture of my first fondant cake!

Peace!

I Want to Share All I Have Learned

In the last three years, I have learned so much. I have learned that I can be very happy with no smoking or drinking. I have learned I am an artist. I have learned that I am a very sensitive soul, filled with joy and pain over the beauty and pain of the world. I have learned that I have to sit with my pain, sit with my anger over how people treat other humans and animals, which is my thing. And I have learned how Art has saved my life.

I want to share that with you.

I want to open my sacred space, my 40 acres in upstate New York, to you, to share, grow and mostly, heal. Heal from the things that have harmed us. Heal from the angers and pain of this world. Heal from the harm we have done to ourselves.

I want to share my rituals around the campfire, honoring Mother Nature and the spirits of the woods. I want to share my painting, my pottery, my jewelry making, my journaling. I want to share my music, my drumming. All of the things that have healed me. All of the things that have made me better. I will have people to help you with the techniques, but really, I think we will be able to heal each other being there for each other, sharing our creative flow. Supporting each other.

Things will be simple. This year, tents, sharing a bath and shower will be necessary. But hopefully, that will be part of the experience of getting back to simplicity. To where we should really be. Without television, cable, the anger of the news. Just us, and our souls, healing and growing together.

Will you join me? Please email me for details: sunrayany@gmail.com