Playing Around with Abstracts

I love abstract art! But I rarely can pull it off in a way I like while painting… my head gets in the way, I think. So I tried something different: I made random paint marks and then photographed isolated parts of them with my iPhone, composing in-camera. I like these.

Coming Soon!!

Online Summer Art Camp from Silly U on Vimeo.

More details and Registration opens July 8th!

Lynn Whipple’s “Best Ideas Ever” Jar

Tags

art, project, Whipple

Hello! While we were in Florida shooting Lynn Whipple’s “The Joy of Collage” class, we also were able to shoot Lynn talking about this brilliant little project, a “Best Ideas Ever!” Jar. I hope you enjoy it!

(And if you make one, be sure to leave a comment with a link to an image… we want to see them!)

Ride that Pony

My dry spell isn’t over but I did have a small success yesterday with the above illustration. 😀

Have a wonderful day!

Scraper! Dot-Dot-Dot!

Hello!

Wes, Matisse & I spent the day packaging up these awesome gifts from Lynn Whipple to send to those who signed up for “The Joy of Collage” online class beginning July 7th. Hurry and sign up if you would like to receive one, too! 😀

(Today’s the last day to order to be sure you’ll get Lynn’s favorite scraper and “dot-dot-dot” tool before class begins!)

Class details: http://www.carlasonheim.com/the-joy-of-collage-with-lynn-whipple/

Stubbed Toes

I usually like the art I make, but man, I’m in a rut! Everything I touch lately is a mess, and not the beautiful kind. 😉

In the past periods like this are immediately forgotten as breakthroughs occur, and I have a good spell. But, you never know.

That is the beauty and pain of art and life. We never know what is around the corner: you meet the love of your life, a friend is hurt, you stub your toe.

This blog is mostly a place where I can share with you the fun parts of creativity and life. The fact that I talk about “stubbed toes” occasionally keeps it real… but it can be kind of a bummer, too, I guess. I’m sorry about that!

😀

I’m actually in pretty good spirits this morning, but just felt the need to check in and show you this morning’s “mess,” above. Some days are just like that!

Now that I’ve completely cheered you up, I hope you have a wonderful week!

 

 

NEW CLASS from Lynn Whipple: “The Joy of Collage”

I am so excited to open registration for our next, new online class from the fabulous Lynn Whipple!

“The Joy of Collage” with Lynn Whipple from Silly U on Vimeo.

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“The Joy of Collage”
Mixed-Media, Collage • $85
2-Week Class; 6 Lessons Total

Class Session: July 7-19, 2014

A great BIG Welcome to the Joy of Collage!

I would be honored to share with you all of my favorite collage techniques as well as a handful of time-tested special tricks for making a great finished work of art. My greatest hope is that you will have fun and enjoy the process.

We will explore great ways to create fresh collages with a focus on building a story and surface. I will show you how to age your collage for a unifying look and we will incorporate drawing, painting, smudging, stamping and a little poetic thing I like to call … dot dot dot.

My overall philosophy is one of freedom, play, exploration and most of all FUN!!!!!! This class is all about YOU, and using your voice to make the things that make your heart sing!

One of my favorite things in my in-person workshops is the show-and-tell and positive feedback session at the end of each class. I love hearing what each artist has to say about what they learned and how their pieces developed! Happy accidents and revelations are the best! I am so glad we will be able to learn from each other this way in this online format.

xoxo lynn

SIGN UP TODAY! For all the details, click HERE.

BONUS! If you sign up by Friday, June 20th you will be gifted Lynn’s favorite dot dot dot sewing tool and yellow scraper in the mail. (International orders, too!) Supplies limited to 150.

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Lynn Whipple writes, “I am deeply grateful to live my life as an artist. Play and discovery are my dearest and most constant companions. There are a zillion tiny challenges in each art making experience, and so often I find, just as many small, sweet victories. Without a doubt, living creatively is the most enjoyable and satisfying game I know.”
Lynn shares a warehouse studio with her husband, John Whipple, in Winter Park, Florida. Lynn’s work includes found-object mixed-media assemblages; found images altered with a combination of drawing, painting, sewing and more; and her well-known Ninny Boxes, collages combined with found objects, and assembled within a box format. Her unique pieces have a playful, quirky, and often absurd, charm.

Lynn explains: “I allow myself to play and let my pieces reveal themselves to me…I have been fascinated by old books, history, and odd bits of memorabilia. I find the things that interest me the most are slightly absurd…My hope is to create something real and somehow poetic but not commonplace. My goal is to keep communicating in my language.”

Lynn’s work has been exhibited extensively throughout the United States. Visit Lynn’s website at www.lynnwhipple.com and her etsy shop at www.etsy.com/shop/lynnwhipple

“Imaginary Creatures” Open for Registration

IMAGINARY CREATURES
ONE-WEEK INTENSIVE CLASS • $35
Next live session: June 23-27, 2014

“Imaginary Creatures” Online Class from Silly U on Vimeo.

Find and create your own zoo of imaginary creatures from random watercolor marks, blobs of paint, sidewalk cracks, peeling paint and more. But mixed in with this nonsense is a healthy dose of “real” drawing exercises and lessons to help you imbue personality and life into your imaginary animals.

We will draw from life, from photos, and from our imaginations. Then you’ll learn my no-fail watercolor tricks to create a series of your own imaginary creatures on paper. You’ll put the finishing touches on with pen, ink, pencil, gesso, charcoal, marker, collage, or whatever else the piece “needs.” We’ll also cover line quality, shading & dimension, and composition.

Take this class if you love animals, want to learn more about watercolor, or just want to explore the “random” and “play” factor in drawing and painting.

CLICK HERE for more info and to sign up!

This is a repeating class. If you have previously taken “Imaginary Creatures” and would like to join the fun at no additional cost, email me at carla[at]carlasonheim.com and I’ll put you on the list. Thanks!

Learning Opportunities

Hello! Today I want to give a shout-out for three different learning opportunities:

Detail of painting from “Paint Your Garden” online class (Diane Culhane)

1. Diane Culhane’s Next Online Class: “Paint Your Garden: Language of Paint” begins tomorrow, June 2nd! In this two-week class you will create a series of small “vignettes” using six different acrylic painting techniques, as well as take these techniques to three larger, finished paintings. This is a fun one! Details HERE.
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Teaching Out of the Box: An Art-Journaling Event August 12-13, 2014.

2. Join my friends Dar James and Deb Barends (with special guests Diana Trout and Lisa Firke) at the “Teaching Out of the Box” Fourth Annual Creativity Institute in Flemington, NJ. I was lucky to be able to teach at their first event in 2011 and had a wonderful time! Just a wonderful learning environment. Details HERE.
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Art Makers Denver: A 3-Day Mixed-Media event

 

3. My three classes at Art Makers Denver in September are the only in-person workshops I’m teaching in 2014. I’m teaching “Gelli Plate Printmaking,” “Gelli Plate PLUS,” and “Blobimal Artist Books.” This one has a lot of wonderful to choose from if you’ve already taken my classes… details HERE!
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Tomorrow Steve and I head to Florida to film our next fabulous artist… stay tuned for details! And have a wonderful day.