Mini Update

Hi!

I hope you are doing well today.

The above blue pages are from a “messy journal” that I’ve been slowly working on inspired by Kara Kramer’s lessons in the Words and Pictures class. Acrylic paints are not my first medium, and I’ve been trying to teach myself to love them, but I am a very slow learner on this one.

Last Friday, June 19th — “Juneteenth” — was our 28th wedding anniversary (Steve and me). We had a really good day!

Studio Update: Many of you have reached out with suggestions for black artist-teachers and I have had four enjoyable conversations so far. Anita was back in the studio on Wednesday to finish filming her new watercolor class, which we now plan to run in September. And look for details next week for a new 3-week class with me in July. Hint: There will be guest artists! The Best of 365 will begin next Wednesday (just $15 for 3 months of prompts!), and mark your calendars for this year’s free Kids Art Week: July 27-31, 2020.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a good weekend!

Carla

 

The Best of 365 – New 90-Day Session

The Best of 365
Cost: $15
Class Dates: July, August & September 2020

The original 365 class was a two-year project of daily prompts and this new class is a collection of the 90 best ones (we think), in order, from the first year. Each day a lesson will be added to your account for 90 days. Some lessons are short projects, some are inspirations and ideas, some are visits with artists and hopefully each day will be a little creative surprise. All the prompts are appropriate for kids and do not require special art supplies. Videos range from 30 seconds to 5 minutes long.

Our philosophy is that creative activity is really important and we should try to get at it in any way we can… and whenever we can. Please join us for The Best of 365!

Nuts & Bolts

• Class Begins on July 1, 2020 and will run for 90 consecutive days.

• You will have forever access to all the videos.

• You will receive an email once per week (Mondays) reminding you to check your account each day for the new prompts!

• A closed Facebook Group will be created to (optionally) share your work and meet artists from around the world.

• Please email steve@carlasonheim.com if you need scholarship assistance.

 

 

My Studio is a Big Mess.

My studio is a big fat mess.

As I write, the blanket I use to cover the cracked and torn leather couch is disheveled and crumpled under my body. On the floor around me I see piles of books, pillows, crumpled rugs, a sewing machine, artwork, fabric, yarn, dying succulents, tangled power cords, and many piles of paper.

At eye level… every table surface is covered, a jumbled mash of finished artwork, paints, water jars, markers, pastels, more paper, important business stuff buried under to-do lists, aprons, ribbon, three different kinds of scissors, and more.

Above me, four out of the eight light fixtures have burned-out bulbs. And there might be a cobweb or two, I don’t know… my eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.

My studio is a big fat mess!

It might be okay sometimes, jumbled messes… evidence of a creative person doing the work perhaps….

But my mess has gotten out of hand, and it’s keeping me from creating anything new, so I find myself needing to begin the process of cleaning my studio today.

(Cleaning now. Keep me accountable!)

Please Read

Hi everyone,

Steve and I want you to know that events of the past week have affected both of us deeply… we could barely keep it together to be honest. We have been humbled and I feel completely inadequate to even attempt to write an email about race. We have so much to learn.

What we do know right now is that we are complicit in the marginalization of black people in our culture. There are many other forms of social injustice in our world, but this is what we need to talk about right now.

Our minds have been spinning with all the things we could do, how we need to change, and all the projects we could start, but we keep hearing that the thing we most need to do is to stop and listen. If you are feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed like we are, we encourage you to do the same and take a breath.

In the meantime, two concrete things we will be doing for sure: Donating money and seeking out black artists to be part of our classes.

This is a start,

Carla and Steve

P.S. We are a community, so please share any resources that you have found with me and others! My daughter-in-law sent me a Facebook post from Shonda Rhimes, which I love:

some are posting on social media
some are protesting in the streets
some are donating silently
some are educating themselves
some are having tough conversations with friends and family
a revolution has many lanes — be kind to yourself and others who are traveling in the same direction.

just keep your foot on the gas.
— Shonda Rhimes