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Monthly Archives: April 2011

Regarding cake… and sweets in general

28 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

"Life"

My birthday is coming up, and I’ve made plans to get together with a friend. During the email exchange, she offered make me a “brussel sprout custard” since I had stopped eating sweets over 10 years ago and can’t eat birthday cake.

(I know it is confusing to people that I don’t eat desserts. The question of the decade: Why? The reasons are complicated and many, but let me just say from the outset that it has nothing to do with me trying to lose weight, or, if it once did, it didn’t work anyway so we can just take that right off the table as a possible reason, okay?)

Anyway, I wrote my friend back the following reply to her sweet offer of a brussel sprout custard:

For the record, I absolutely LUUURVE brussel sprouts, and would have loved to have a “brussel sprout custard,” but I can’t because it has “custard” in the name, which is a dessert.

I don’t eat desserts. “Cookies,” “cake,” “ice cream,” “pie,” and “custard” are all off the list, unfortunately.

I do eat “muffins.” (Even though muffins are “cake-like,” the word “cake” is not in the name and so I can eat it.)

“Pancakes” are okay too, because the cake part is not separate; “pancakes” is one word; “coffee cake” is two words, and therefore more like “cake.”

Banana bread works because it is called “bread” and not “cake.”

(I SHOULD be able to eat cupcakes, since the pancake rule would apply, but even I can’t bring myself to justify THAT.)

I will make you a little chart to keep things straight, but in the meantime, remember:

— “biscuits” not “cookies”
— “muffins,” not “cupcakes”
— “bread,” not “cake”
— “smoothies” not “milkshakes”
— “crazy,” not “sane”

Love and (Hershey) kisses!

Carla

My Day Off

28 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

"Life", Animals, Sketchbook, Sketches

Yesterday I stayed home all day and took a “personal” day. I must have needed it, because today I feel SO MUCH BETTER about EVERYTHING.

(There are six animals in the above drawing; can you find them all?)

For most of the morning I sat on the living room rug with music (“Ricky Martin Pandora Radio”) and my sketchbook. I decided to do some random scribbles (kind of like the commercial) and see what happened… and I had the most fun!

(The above drawing looks unfinished, but I kind of like it that way for some reason.)

I surprised myself by wanting to draw on my day off. (Though I’m surprised that I was surprised… isn’t that what I’m all about? “Drawing is fun” and all that? LOL)

(This is my favorite drawing of the bunch.)

A “Silly” Commercial!

24 Sunday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

Animals, Online Classes, The Art of Silliness

Created by my talented son and daughter-in-law, here is the very first “Sillymercial!”

Silly 4 starts in just a few days… please help me spread the word by re-tweeting, facebooking and sharing this commercial (if you are so inclined, of course). THANKS!

Silly 4 Interview

22 Friday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Interviews, Musings, Online Classes, The Art of Silliness

A few days ago I was contacted by Ainslie Hunter, who had signed up for “The Art of Silliness 4” and wondered if she could interview me for her wonderful blog, “Courses that Matter.” My answers are below, but please do check out her site as she is starting an Online Education Revolution!! Thanks, Ainslie!

************************

Could you start by telling us a bit about The Art of Silliness 4?

Yes.  Silly 4 is the fourth session of my online class, “The Art of Silliness: Drawing Worksheets for Adults”.  Each session is basically the same – 30 days / 30 worksheets – but with different “ingredients”.  It is a drawing class both for those who feel they “can’t draw”, and those who can draw but want to start approaching it in a way that is more light hearted and fun.

It is set up so that each day the participant downloads and prints a worksheet, third-grade style. My idea is to kind of bring you back to that time in your life when drawing was easy, no big deal, before the judgment kicked in. And didn’t you just love filling out worksheets?

I did. So I thought it would be a fun way to teach drawing.

Some people go through one workshop and feel “done.” Others have signed up for all four sessions, as they enjoy the daily prompts and the month-long community that is formed each time. (And what’s not to love about a bunch of people brave enough to take a “silly” class?!!)

How did you decide to structure the course the way you did?

I am a workshop instructor for adults, having first taught children in my sons’ elementary school classrooms. I try to make drawing fun for everyone. I had been thinking about an online class for about a year before I did the first one. But I was stuck; I didn’t have the video equipment/skills necessary to do it the way others were doing it.

When I thought of the daily worksheet/PDF  idea, I was so excited that it was something I DID know how to do (upload PDFs to a website and send a daily email), that I quickly wrote a blog post about it and jumped in with both feet.

Can you tell us a bit about the planning involved in the course?  > How long have you been thinking about the idea?  How long from idea to launch?

Oh my goodness, this is slightly embarrassing. As I said earlier, I had been trying to figure out the online class thing for awhile — at least a year. But when I got the idea (early one Sunday morning in

March 2010), I wrote the blog post about it and the class started less than two weeks later. I even laughed at myself about it in the post  (I am somewhat impulsive.)

Anyway, one of the main IDEAS of the course was that it would be created AS THE CLASS WAS GOING ALONG. In that way, I could keep it fresh, react to the students a bit more, AND eliminate that laborious pre-planning stage… I really thought I would do a better job it I could remain spontaneous about it, and I do think it works. I priced it accordingly I think, too!

What do you think are the most important features of an online course and why?

I think a good mixture of fun (silliness), content and community. At least it works for the Silly Series!!

How are you going to communicate high expectations in your course?

Actually, I don’t really worry about it…. I have high expectations for myself, and I think that is evident in my communications, both in the worksheet instructions and my emails…. and perhaps that rubs off. But I think that life can be hard, and we need to be gentle with ourselves, too. Sometimes people sign up for the Silly class and life gets in the way, and they can’t get to the worksheets for awhile.  That’s okay. The worksheets will always be there, and when the time is right, they’ll get to them. (If not, well, it was only $25!)

Will you emphasise the importance of completing tasks in the course?

No, not overtly. Again, I want people to LIKE drawing, and putting a gun to their heads is not effective in my experience!

In this class uploading the drawings and/or completed worksheets to the flickr site is completely optional. Students also have the option of emailing me assignments (if they’re shy about posting publicly), but it is not required.

In what ways will you respect the diverse talents and ways of learning of your students?

Because there are 30 different worksheets, and often each worksheet has one, two or even three different things to do (write, scribble, draw carefully, etc.), I think I’m able to speak to everyone.  (Plus, it’s good for really “neat” people to get messy once in a while, and really messy people to slow down and work more carefully… we do it all.)

How will you encourage active learning throughout the course?

 Well, the online Silly class is basically a tangible example of how I seem to live my life, which is to constantly learn, try, adjust, correct, delight, mourn and start all over again. I will ask people to look up giraffe photos online, for example, or ask their spouses to make a drawing (learning that, my goodness, Bill is GREAT at it! And it was so easy for him! Maybe it’s not that big of a deal after all!)

Are students able to receive feedback from you during the course?

 Yes. I comment to almost every photo uploaded on the flickr site, and am also available by email throughout the month. I try to answer general questions that I think would be of interest to everyone in the next day’s group email.

Is engagement encouraged between the members? 

Well, I’m not sure how it happens, but each session the participants just ENGAGE each other… on the blog but mostly on the flickr site.  Everyone comments on everything; it is a lively, positive, and very supportive group.

Do you see yourself as a teacher in this process? Why?  Why not?

Only in that I truly love to see people drawing, and am enthusiastic  in my comments!

I believe that teaching can transform lives and create a ripple effect (either in the teacher or students.)  What transformation  have you seen because of the Art of Silliness?

Yes. I have seen it happen so many times, where a silly assignment will create these awesome family moments that just make me cry almost! One example: an assignment for a “Silly Saturday” was to

straighten their shoes (as extra credit they could draw them). One student created the following video with her daughters.

Beautiful.

Any last words of advice?

I have kept the price low and have a very liberal policy when it comes to the classes; each household needs only to pay once and everyone (including the kids) can participate. Also, teachers are allowed to copy worksheets for use in their classrooms. I do this for several reasons:

First, I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND how it feels to be broke and not have money. $25 is about all I could ever pay (especially before I moved to Seattle in 2010), and I would want to be able to share it with my family guilt-free if I were taking the class. I figure, if enough people sign up each session, then I am “okay”. Two, my website is on each worksheet, so if a teacher uses them in her classroom, then I might potentially pick up a future student or two. Finally, I want as many people as possible to “catch the drawing fever,” so, the more the merrier!!

Also…I really wanted my online class to be a reflection of who I was, as a person and a teacher, and not just something that I THOUGHT people would pay for. It took a long time to come up with the Silliness idea, but when I did, I didn’t hesitate, even though I had no idea that it would become as popular as it did.

I was lucky in the fact that at the time my (freelance photographer) husband was fairly busy, so that freed me up that month to make a little less money if it turned out to be a complete bust.

I really appreciate all of the wonderful people who have taken the class, and helped me fill the classes by spreading the word, etc.

Thank you!!

+++++++++++++++

P.S. Silly 4 starts in just 10 days! Go here for the details or to sign up!

Um…

20 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

"Life", Animals, Sketchbook

Good morning!

It’s Monday. I like Mondays. Mondays are full of possibility.

(Good God. It’s not Monday. I just realized.)

Am I losing my MIND???????!!!!

I must be.

It’s Wednesday.

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

Catharsis! Mark Making Book: Class with Lisa Engelbrecht

18 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Artwork

On the first day of Artfest I took a class from the lovely Lisa Engelbrecht. I really enjoyed splashing the ink, watercolor and bleach around all day, and enjoyed listening to Lisa talk about her art-making “philosophy,” which is so similar to mine. (I wish now I had taken notes, to share with you all, but all I remember thinking over and over was, “That’s how I feel, too!”)

We worked fairly large, so these samples are details.

So fun. (I did make a small book, but it is hidden away in boxes still.)

Thanks again, Lisa, for a great class!

Journal Mapping: Class with Jill Berry

14 Thursday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Artwork

This past weekend I took classes from two artists I admire a lot. On Friday I took “Journal Mapping” with Jill Berry.

Jill is a smart, fun, and passionate teacher. She LOVES maps and her enthusiasm for the subject rubbed off on all of us! The above “head map” is a map of my journey to Artfest (starting a few days before the event (chaotic scribbling at the back base of my head), and ending with the end of the first night at the event. (Sharpie, crayon on vellum)

Next we did a memory map. My map outlines (interpretatively) my walk to high school each day. My “aha” moment with this one was that I didn’t have to know exactly what the map was going to contain ahead of time… I could just START, and then add the memories as they came to me while working on the map. (Not sure this was such a hard concept for me to grasp, as it’s exactly how I teach my imaginary creatures, but….) My favorite technique of the day was using a stencil brush and dye inks, demonstrated in a video on Jill’s blog, here. (Sharpie, dye ink, colored pencil on paper)

The third map we did was of Fort Warden in Port Townsend, and you can see it here. I struggled a bit with what to do with this one, until I finally decided just to make it the monster-elephant that I kept seeing anyway. The little white boxes, or “teeth,” are actually the buildings that I ate, slept and taught in…

Next, a “constellation map”:

With this assignment we were asked to create an image and “map it” in the sky. A heart, an animal, a house… this should have been easy for me, right? But in the end my rebellious nature took over again, and I just made it a bunch of stars connected together:

I really like that Jill required us to title the map! (PanPastel, coffee, pencil, and sticker on watercolor paper)

Jill — THANK YOU — it was a great class!

(And if this seems fun to you, please check out Jill’s forthcoming book, Personal Geographies: Explorations in Mixed-Media Map-Making, due out November 2011. I even contributed a map to it!)

___________________________

Tomorrow I’ll show you the work from Lisa Engelbrecht’s class.

Happy Birthday to my Mom!

13 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Family, Sketches

My mom’s birthday is today, April 13th. Happy Birthday, Mom!

(And if you’d like to join me in wishing her a happy birthday, her name is Kay!!)

A Letter to Artfesters

11 Monday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

"Life", Artwork, Musings

Above: Interpretive map of Fort Warden in Port Townsend, where Artfest was held this past weekend. Created in Jill Berry’s excellent class, “Journal Mapping.” Mixed media on paper (pencil, Sharpie, ink, colored pencil, coffee)

*****************************

Dear Artfesters,

To everyone: It was so good to see you again! I hope that you arrived home from the weekend creatively refreshed and with a pocket full of new tools, tricks and stories to keep your art alive and refreshed in the coming months.

To those in my class on Saturday: Thank you for being there… I loved what you created and I thank you for the opportunity to take you into my “silly” world, even if for just a little bit. Send pictures!!

To those who bought stuff from me on Friday night: Thank you.

To those who would like to keep the creativity flowing: 2011 was my 9th Artfest; most of those times I came home after the event DETERMINED to keep creating every day. “Keep it going! No matter what! Don’t fail this year!” But the truth is, life is busy, and some of us do have a hard time carving out creative time and space when we have kids to get up in the morning, feed, drive to school and orthodontist appointments; when we have demanding jobs that take most of our creative energy; when we have spouses or other family members needing our love and attention. Not to mention those damn dishes.

My encouragement to you is to be gentle with yourself as you transition away from your creative weekend at Artfest and back into your normal life. It may be a month before you pull out your colored pencils again. I truly think that is OKAY.

To those of you who are feeling a bit of a letdown now that it’s over: Sometimes after a wonderful time at an event like Artfest I find myself fighting depression during the few days after. I know this is due to me being extremely tired, and also mourning the loss of the energy, people and creative time I enjoyed. If you find yourself a little down today, please remember that this is fairly common, I think. You are not alone, and it will pass!

To everyone (again): We were lucky to be together this past weekend, don’t you think? It was good to see you there. I am grateful for my wonderful teachers (Lisa Engelbrecht and Jill Berry), the students who took my class on Saturday, and especially for Teesha and Tracy and their crew for making it happen. Thank you.

xoxo

Carla Sonheim

Kindergarten Bunnies

06 Wednesday Apr 2011

Posted by carlasonheim in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Student Artwork!

These wonderful Tombow Bunnies were done by 4- and 5-year-olds from Deb Barend’s Kindergarten class… see more here — including “Picasso Cats.” Thanks, Deb, for sending these to me!! (BTW, Deb is one of the educators hosting Teaching Out of the Box in July!)

Awesomeness. Just so darn cute, each and every one!!

* * * * * * * *

I’m signing out for a few days as I head up to Artfest in Port Townsend, WA… I’m taking classes from Lisa Engelbrecht and Jill Berry (both of which I’m really looking forward to), and teaching on Saturday. See you next week!

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Hello! I A Seattle-based artist who works with drawing, watercolor, and mixed-media. Hosts online art classes with 15 talented teachers through Carla Sonheim Presents: carlasonheim.com. Author of three instructional art books. Grateful grandma. Read more here.

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