Musing on Online Classes and Class review: Collect and Create

I just finished up the Amy Tan class, "Collect and Create," offered at Two Peas.  While trying to compose this review of the class, I found myself contemplating why I take online classes because the answer to that will often determine how satisfied I am with a class.  Sometimes I take classes because I want to learn a new skill or new technique.  This is often the case with photography, Photoshop or art journaling classes.  Sometimes I take classes because I want to complete a project.  Many of Shimelle's classes (like Journal Your Christmas, Learn Something New, or I Confess) fit into this category. Other times I take a class because I am looking for inspiration.  I usually do this when I have a project in mind that I want to complete, and I just need a jump start (Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party or Worth a Thousand Words are examples of this). 

When it comes to "Collect and Create," I was mainly looking for inspiration (I won the class in a give-away from Ali Edwards' blog). When I read the description, I thought it would provide me with some good ideas to scrap my backlog of vacation and family pictures from 2011.  The class had five lessons:  each lesson had a PDF (about 20 pages) and a short to very short video (5-10 minutes). The lessons covered using scraps; using favorites; scrapping memorabilia; inspiration; and putting it all together.  On the whole, the materials were very thin.  As an experienced scrapper, I did not encounter any new techniques (the videos on cutting page protectors for memorabilia and creating a background with mists were the best).  Several minutes of the videos were simply Amy Tan flipping through Japanese image books or her Project Life Album.  Reading through the PDF's, I came up with a list of inspiration ideas which I did use. I discussed many of them in my post yesterday, and I would say that the layout up top today came from the "putting it all together" lesson.  But there wasn't anything really new on the list of challenges, and the ideas weren't presented with any real depth.  Frankly, I think I would have gotten as many ideas by going back through the challenges from Shimelle's last on-line crop. So, on the whole, I did not get much out of the class.

I do think the class may be more helpful to a new scrapper or to someone with a different style.  Many of the page examples fall into the category of creating a page that uses A LOT  of embellishments and patterned paper to create a stunning back drop for a single picture.  Although these pages are beautiful to look at and certainly a valid style of scrapping, it is most definitely NOT my style of scrapbooking.  Perhaps if it were, the class would have been more satisfying. 

Finally, let's talk about cost.  For me, it was free.  But the class is priced at $25, which I think is generally about right for an inspiration class.  I think I'm willing to pay more for a technique/skills class or a project class.  However, given the limited content in the class, I think the $25 price tag is too high.

Overall, I would give the class a C+.  That's just my opinion, and I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who took the class.

I would also be interested in your thoughts on why you take a class and whether that affects how much you're willing to pay for it.  

Class Review: Watercolor Sketching

I just completed the class "Watercolor Sketching" presented by Cathy Johnson, free of charge at Strathmore Artists Studio. The class consisted of four lessons, released one per week, starting on March 1 (but all now available until August 1).  Each lesson includes a basic video, a bonus video and a downloadable PDF.  The first two lessons were on basic watercolor techniques and how to incorporate them with drawing.  I found that watercolors are harder to work with than acrylics, in terms of blending. And less forgiving.  But definitely easier to transport.  The second lesson was on mixing watercolors with other media:

For this page, I started with a variegated water color wash, drew some shells in ink. Added highlights with other ink pens and some gesso.  The final lesson was on collage with water color:

I love this page I created about Clara's obsession with her cell phone.
All-in-all, I found it to be a very satisfying class.  The basic lessons provided enough information to try new skills, while the bonus videos showed Cathy Johnson working through larger water color projects.  It started a little slow, but the last two lessons were jam-packed with information and exercises. There was a forum (which I couldn't figure out) and a photo gallery in which I didn't participate. But those are small quibbles.   I give the class a solid A.
Anyone else take this class?

Class Review: 101 Faces with Carla Sonheim

I am finally finished with this wonderful class . . . or at least finished enough to write a review.  Carla Sonheim offered this class as a repeat of an earlier online class.  It cost $35 and ran for five jam-packed days.  She bills it as a "summer camp" or boot camp style class, with A LOT of assignments packed into five days. Each day began with an email and a warm up exercise (a PDF to print out). There were then two assignments, communicated via videos. One assignment was generally focused on drawing and the other was focused on painting. They covered a wide variety of media and asked participants to repeat the techniques 4-10 times. Sometimes faces were drawn from a reference photograph; others were drawn from the imagination. The goal was to have fun trying out a variety of media and to find a style that worked for you.  Carla established a flickr group where participants posted their faces and received comments. Comments could also be made on the class blog, but I didn't notice much activity there. 
Day 1 featured watercolor faces (from your imagination) and left-handed drawing. I loved the watercolor faces! Day 2 was about drawing with sharpie markers (from a photo reference) and portraits with an ink dropper. These were both difficult for me, but I was surprised to get a few decent results (including the one at the top of this post).  Day 3 was one line drawings (hated these!) and realistic drawings with pencil, sharpie and watercolor crayons (both from a photo reference). I found these difficult but a very good exercise. Day 4 was scribble drawings from live models (loved these) and graphite and pastel portraits from your imagination (drawn with an eraser). I didn't really care for the last two techniques, though the pastels were better than the graphite. Day 5 was drawing with colored pencils from a photo reference (difficult for me and made me realize that colored pencils are definitely not my medium); stylized charcoal drawing from a photo reference (I substituted pastels - love these!!!) and stylized conte crayon drawing from a photo reference (I substituted oil pastel crayons and enjoyed working with them). The final class assignment is to reflect on what you have done and make ten more faces in the style that works for you. 
I think my favorites were watercolor faces (from imagination), scribble drawings of live models and both pastel techniques, so I'll make more of each of those.
Overall, I thought this was a terrific class! I experimented with a variety of different media (and found it easy to substitute what I had for anything I was missing from the supply list) and really began to get a sense of the importance of shading (in realistic faces) and the difference between drawing from a reference vs. real life vs. from my imagination.  These last two things were wonderful insights for me. The flickr group worked well, and Carla visited often commenting on almost every face posted!  I also thought, at $35, it was reasonably priced for all the content.  In terms of improvement, I would have appreciated an introductory lesson or video focusing on the big picture of drawing faces (shapes, proportions, etc.). I think that if I had not learned this in an earlier class, I would have been really lost. There's a lot of "learn by observing and doing" (reinforced with repetition), without as much instruction or drawing theory. I also think I would have preferred to have the class run as a three to four week class, with the assignments spread out a bit more. Although I did the first 3 days in the first week of January, the other two got spread out. The videos are available forever, so I was able to pace myself, but by the time I got to days 4 and 5, there was not community left with which to interact. Overall, I give the class a solid A-.
I'd love to hear from others who took the class or others who are considering taking drawing classes.
**********************************************************************
OLW 2012 Weekly update: not much to report this week. I battled a bad cold most of the week and organized a big soccer event (Youth Night on Friday night), so didn't have the time or energy to do much. I did finish the Faces class and encouraged DH to call the handyman to haul away some things! I'll do better next week.

Class Review: Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party

ATC's Inspired by Prompt 6 in Shimelle's Pretty Paper Party class: Printables. These are for the element ATC swap and feature element 64 gadolinium, which is used in MRI's and the green phosphorous in color TV's.

I'm having such a hard time trying to review this class. On one hand, I really got a lot out of it (learning some new techniques and revisiting old ones to complete lots of pages), and I found it to be a good value for the money.  On the other hand, I ended up vaguely dissatisfied at the end of it.  Perhaps I would summarize my feelings this way - it was a great class until it wasn't anymore. 

The class was scheduled to run from Oct. 17 until Nov. 25 - with 25 prompts plus some videos and other goodies - all for only $18 U.S.  The problem is that somewhere along the line, the flow of the class fell apart.  Near the end of the class, Shimelle hosted an online party which was open to the class participants, as well as other blog subscribers.  The online party also had a strong Christmas focus as Shimelle was gearing up for her Journal Your Christmas class.  For me, this led to a great deal of confusion about what to do and when the class was actually over.  And then, Shimelle had a bit of a personal issue (finding herself having to move living quarters on short notice) and JYC started up. The upshot of all this was that class participants received the final class prompt yesterday (on Dec. 11).  It contained a bonus pdf booklet of sketches and access to another class (both for free!).  The whole experience ended up being very disjointed, in my opinion.

I loved the first 20 or so prompts. I found them inspirational and informational.  And well worth the price of the class.  If it had ended there, I would have given the class a solid A or A-.   But, as a result of the confusion, I would give it a lower grade. The confusion frustrated me because I like organized, linear classes. I like to start a class, try hard to keep up and then finish it and call it done. 

So, overall, I think I would give the class a B or B-.  But I wonder if I'm being too harsh. I know a lot of you took the class, and I'm interested in what you think? Am I being too harsh? Did you experience it differently? And, for those of you who didn't take the class, I have a different question. When reviewing a class, how much weight should be given to the price of a class? Should a free or inexpensive class be judged differently than a more pricey class? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Class Review: 12 Days of Christmas 2011 (Cheryl Johnson)

I just completed Cheryl Johnson's photography class "12 Days of Christmas 2011," and I would say it was a winner! CJ offers this class free each year to a large (but limited) group of students. If you get the chance to sign up for it next year, I would definitely say that it's worth your time.  
CJ sends a new photography prompt each day from Dec. 1 - Dec. 12. The prompts are a nice combination of technical prompts (setting white balance, creating bokeh, shooting lights at night) and composition challenges (self-portrait, groups, outdoor pictures, etc.). There's a forum and (new this year) a facebook group.  The forum was not overly crowded, so it was easy to examine each photograph that was posted (about 40 per prompt).  A lot of the posted work was really inspiring, and I got lots of good ideas from the perusing the images there. Classmates were pretty good about commenting - most of my photos received feedback from 5-10 people. CJ patrolled the forum to answer any questions but didn't really offer much feedback on the images posted during the course. (Although it's possible she may add comments next week.)
Like most online classes, you get out of it what you put into it.  I only completed 9 of the 12 challenges (I skipped a photoshop tutorial, a group portrait exercise and one on writing with light). But those nine prompts taught me a lot! I now really know how to use the white balance setting on my camera, and I learned how to take beautiful night pictures (like the one at the top of today's post; please click on it to enlarge and enjoy the details). As a result of this class, I have already taken some beautiful holiday pictures, and I know that the photographs I take during the rest of the month will be better because of what I learned during these twelve days! Overall grade: B+
Anyone else have thoughts on this class? How are your December classes going so far?

Class Review: A Day with Mary Jo McGraw

As I mentioned recently, this year's Scramp Camp featured the guest artist Mary Jo McGraw. She spent the day with us, teaching two actual classes (one on collage and one on coloring and card making) and the balance of the day hanging out with us answering questions about various techniques and products.  The classes were fine. I made the canvas I posted about here and the cards posted above. I'd give the classes a solid B+ for giving good information and working with each student to create something that fit them individually. I have a recurring gripe about instructors not handing out written instructions, but that's a battle I seem destined to lose.   Mary Jo also has lots of very strong opinions, and she's going to share them with you!  Such candor may not be for everyone.
But . . . the amount of knowledge she possesses about products, stamping, art journaling, etc. is breath-taking! My favorite part of the day spent with her was when she taught us how to draw faces (see mine here) and answered questions about Ranger products and techniques. I wish I could have video-taped that portion of the day because it certainly rated a solid A for content and a willingness to share her secrets! 
Speaking of classes, I signed up for Cheryl Johnson's next photography class, "Painting with Light: The Sequel." I'm really liking her mix of photography tips and photoshop lessons. Plus, for $30, it's hard to beat! Anyone else taking any classes now or in the near future?
P.S.
Just a little "squee" because I found out there's an observation bee hive at a children's museum about 1.5 miles from my work!
And a really big sigh of relief because I took Gypsy back to the vet today for a one month check-in, and my rock star vet Craig says that she's looking really good!!! We're continuing to decrease the amount of medication she's taking, and we're really beginning to think she's going to make a full recovery!

Class Review: Beautiful People Portraiture and Charity Auction

I recently took the on-line class, "Beautiful People Portraiture" with Cheryl Johnson (CJ) of Feel Good Photography.  The class ran for four weeks and cost $40 (25 pounds).  At the beginning of each week, participants received an email with a PDF and video link describing the week's assignment and giving information to help with the assignment. The assignments included introduction to posing (I have a few in this post) (and self-portraiture); photographing babies and children; photographing strangers (see mine here) (and profile shots); and wild and crazy portraits (photo booth style or action-packed and hands or feet)(see mine here). By the end of the week, participants posted their three best shots in the gallery for feedback from CJ and others.  Each week, CJ picked a few shots as the "best of the week" to feature on her blog. There were a few bonus videos: two on using reflectors and one answering lingering questions that people submitted during the last week of class.  There was a forum/gallery for people to post their photographs and chit-chat. I signed up for the class because I wanted to learn more about taking portraits and because the class was reasonably priced.  

Overall, I was very satisfied with the class.  I feel like I learned a lot about taking portraits and it forced me to practice in different situations.  I am particularly proud of the profile portrait I took of my son, Henry, which is featured up top and which CJ chose as one of the photos of the week.  I also really liked the baby portraits I took, one of which you can see in this post. The weekly materials were pretty good, although I wish they gave a little more direction. Truthfully, they sometimes seemed a little thin. Thankfully, they were supplemented by CJ answering questions and providing the additional videos. The videos on reflectors, for instance, were absolutely fabulous!  In addition, CJ commented individually on every single weekly assignment posted by participants.  Let me say that again, CJ commented on every single assignment posted by students. Her critiques were a little blunt, but invaluable. I learned a lot by reading her comments on my photographs and the photographs of other participants. This feature was definitely the best part of the class. It made it feel like you were actually taking a hands-on class with a professional. The forum was a good size - there were only about 35 people total, which meant you could see everyone's photographs and get feedback from most of the participants. The talent level of the participants varied widely, which created even more learning opportunities. CJ also sponsored a surprise party at the end of the class (although I wasn't able to participate because I was out of town, it seemed like a lot of fun).  One small problem I encountered with the class was that many of the other participants had taken many CJ classes and, as a first time participant, it felt a little difficult to break into the circle and understand the jargon. But, I kept asking questions and eventually nudged my way right in. So, overall, I would give the class and A-.  Depending upon the price, I would definitely take another class with Cheryl Johnson.  I welcome input from others who have take classes with her!

By the way, Cheryl Johnson has a charity auction going on at e-bay right now. The money will go to a charity called "Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep," which helps parents cope with the loss of a newborn. She's auctioning off a portrait session, and right now it's a real bargain. The auction closes soon. You can read more about it here.  
So, how are your summer classes going?
{In other news, my dog Gypsy is sick. She was low energy and anemic when we left for our trip and hasn't really recovered. I feel badly because I'm sure that our absence did not help. No real help from the vet; it's all a bit of a mystery. Sigh. Anyway, good thoughts definitely appreciated.}

Class Review: Skinny Mini from Kim Klassen

One of my resolutions for this year is to learn photoshop elements, and the first step in the process was taking a free class on photoshop called the Skinny Mini, offered by Kim Klassen.  The class was run over two weeks, with new lessons posted each weekday.  The lessons alternated between videos explaining a concept and homework to go over those concepts.    The videos were incredibly clear and easy to follow.  I would run the videos on my ipad, while working in PSE on my computer.  I could pause and rewind the videos whenever I needed to.  The homeworks re-enforced the lessons presented in the videos and gave you the steps in a written format. The lessons covered using the layers panel, blending modes,adding text,  solid adjustments, textures, brushes, spot healing, masks, black & white conversions, making a blog banner and making a blog button.  Although the videos were only available for a week after the class ended, for a nominal fee of $5.00, a student can have permanent access to the videos.  I gladly paid the charge to have continued access to them.  There was a flickr group in which you could post your homework assignments, and other students often commented on them.  There was also a conversation page to post questions, and Kim answered every question posted to the conversation page promptly.
Overall, this was a great class!  It contained a huge amount of information, and it was all very clearly presented.  I learned enough to be able to process photographs in many interesting ways.  And it was free!  My one criticism is that Kim's approach to teaching might not appeal to everyone because, although she does a great job of showing off all the "trees" of photoshop, she never really describes the "forest."   I ended up having used a number of different tools available in PSE and feeling pretty good about how to use them, but I never understood the big picture of how they related to each other.  Now, not everybody wants the big picture.  Many people just want to jump in and know what button to push, drag or apply.  And Kim is fantastic at that!  But I do better with a little more introduction.  So, I'll be taking another class in the near future to hopefully learn more.  Still, for a free class, I give the class a solid A rating. I'd love to hear reactions from others who have taken a Kim Klassen class as to whether you think this is typical of her style, and, from everyone, whether you want a teacher who emphasizes the forest or trees.
My art journal page above summarizes my feelings about the class.  It reads, "In January, I took an introductory, free PS class and I learned how to do a lot of things, but I don't yet have a good overview.  I've signed up for another class and hope to learn even more.  I'm happy to emphasize photo processing." I incorporated images of an owl (for learning) and a forest and a tree (for what I learned & didn't learn). 

Class Review: Journal Your Christmas 2010

I stole some time this morning to sit down and finish my "Journal Your Christmas" album for the Shimelle class of the same name. And I'm really glad I did.  Partly because I knew that if I didn't finish it soon, it might not get done until next December.  But also because it gave me a chance to sit back and revisit the holiday season. And that's one of the best things about this class.

I like the way the class forces me to be mindful of the holidays as they are happening.  By checking the Shimelle prompt and thinking about whether I want to document what she has suggested or go in my own direction, I stop and ponder the day, the season and my current life.  You can see the basic format of my album above (my manifesto page) and below:

My album pages were all about 3.5"x6".  For each day, I took a hipstamatic photo on my iphone, which I printed out at scrapbookpictures.com at 3"x3".  I added a strip of patterned paper for balance. On the right hand side, each page had a 3"x5" journaling block, a strip of patterned paper and an embellishment.  I found this format very easy to work with.  The only downside was not being able to assemble the whole thing until I ordered and received my pictures. Another great thing about this class is how flexible it is; there are limitless ways to create a JYC project, and none are "wrong."  This is the third time I've completed the class, and each of my projects have been very different (the first was an art journal in a box; the second, a book featuring Tim Holtz tags).  More importantly, I've learned or realized different lessons each time I've taken the class:

This is the final entry in my album.  Shimelle's last prompt encourages you to reflect on the holiday season and what you learned from doing JYC.  I had a bit of an epiphany when I was putting this page together - we spent a lot of time together as a family in December 2010 . . . doing Christmas stuff, but also all the other stuff that makes up life (basketball, soccer, homework, etc.).  We also spent significant time with extended family.  This felt different than other Decembers, and it was good.  And I probably would not have realized it without doing the JYC Project.  So, thank-you Shimelle, for another great class!
The basics:  The class runs from Dec. 1 - Jan 6 with 37 daily prompts (each one different) about journaling your Christmas. New for this year were additional "In Focus" prompts, which featured tips for photography, as well as a few photography challenges if you needed help trying to decide what to photograph.  I LOVED these!!!  They are things I will return to throughout the year.  I especially loved her last "in focus" prompt with suggestions for setting photography goals for the year. There's a forum where people share pages, questions and ideas.  Like many classes, it was much more active during the first part of the class than the latter, but I always found it helpful.  The class this year was smaller than last year's, which I think was a good thing because it was easier to follow along. Although Shimelle uses the same basic prompts each year, this year she updated them with her current pages and pictures/ ideas that others shared last year.  Shimelle's classes are always ridiculously cheap.  This one was 22 pounds (about $25 U.S.) and once you buy it once, you get to take it every year for free!  I give the class an  A+. What about you?  Different views always welcome.

Class Review: True Stories

Kk (art journal page)
I made this art journal page in response to a prompt in Shimelle's class "True Stories" about capturing your own private language - you know those pet phrases unique to your world that might be forgotten months or years from now, if not jotted down and explained.  It's just a little thing, but as I wrote above, "I find it so sweet when Clara signs off her texts in agreement, 'Kk'."


Shimelle's class was all about capturing stories before they get lost and about recording them in ways that are more meaningful that simply "who, what, when and where."  Fifteen emails over three weeks covered a variety of interesting ways to tell stories (including prompts such as writing a letter, journaling in the form of a play, and using numbers as a starting point).  Each email actually included several prompts for how to approach the day's lesson, so it was easy to find something as a jumping off point.  Shimelle featured a layout of her own and one from a guest artist each day showing how they used the daily lesson.  There were also several sketches that could be used for scrapbook pages.  In a very cool twist, every day Shimelle featured a lesson from a writing expert who shared interesting insights into improving your writing, related to the day's lessons. These insights were fresh and interesting and very different from the sorts of things usually discussed in scrapbook classes.  Although I used the class as a way to create art journal pages,  I know I will also be able to use the prompts for scrapbook pages and blog posts.  As a final bonus, Shimelle emailed a booklet of 52 more prompts with lots of samples to keep your journaling all year long! Overall, it was a wonderful class which offered fresh approaches to journaling, either in the format to be used or the subjects to be covered.  Priced at only $15, it's an Easy A!

Class Review: AJ103Composition and Color Techniques

Now Winter nights enlarge

the number of their hours

and clouds their storm discharge

upon the airy towers.

I just finished my fourth art journaling class with Dina Wakley, Art Journal 103: Composition and Color Techniques.  The class consisted of eight lessons, posted twice a week over a four week period of time.  The first four focused on composition theory and the second four on color theory.  Composition topics included symmetry & assymetry, white space, continuance, dominance, unity,  combining and overlapping.  Color topics included color combinations, contrast, color as a compositional tool and the power of black & white.  Each lesson included a thorough discussion of its topic, including explanations and examples.  At 20-25 pages per lesson (or almost 200 total pages), they were comprehensive enough to constitute a beginning course in visual design! To help put these lessons into action, each post contained a description of how to use the topics on art journal pages and a series of page challenge ideas.  One of the best and most unexpected parts of each lesson was a discussion of how to break the design rules and still create a pleasing page.  Last, but certainly not least, each lesson included an art technique to incorporate.  These were all really fun and interesting, and, for the most part, new to me!  These included watercolor with spray ink, painted & scraped backgrounds, butcher paper collage, underpainting, gel medium resist, and black spray paint. There was also a brief introduction to collaging, glazing and a download to make custom color charts.  Every single lesson came with a video where Dina explains the various techniques, and you get to see her create page after wonderful page.  The opportunity to see her at work as she explains her creative process is absolutely invaluable! The class included a discussion forum and gallery.  Dina monitored both closely, answering all questions posted to the forum and commenting on virtually every image posted in the gallery.  The activity level at the forum and in the gallery was enough to be interesting, without being overwhelming.  The class cost $65, and I think the content was well worth it.


Overall, I really enjoyed this class.  I found the page challenges and art techniques really useful as a way to jump start my creativity and make some art journal pages.  I especially loved the the spray ink watercolor, scraped backgrounds and butcher paper collage techniques.  The black spray paint technique really expanded my way of looking at things, even if I'm not sure how often I'll use it, and the color charts will be really handy.  I know I can use the color and composition theory when starting a collage and need to decide which color to grab or where to place an element, or when I'm stuck mid-process and need to figure out my next step. The only potential downside to the class was that it didn't contain any journaling prompts, so some students seemed at a loss for subjects for their pages.  This didn't bother me (especially because I was taking Shimelle's journaling class at the same time), but there did seem to be some frustration expressed about this. In all of Dina's other art journaling classes, there were lots of prompts and ideas for journaling topics, but that simply wasn't the focus of this class.
Look at the page at the top of today's post.  It uses the gel medium resist technique, black spray paint, concepts of flow, white space, color contrasts and the power of black and white. It's a page that brings together many of the concepts and techniques from the class and one which I happen to love!  Bottom line - I give the class a Solid A for helping me create this page and so many others.

Teaching Art Journaling

Last month, I taught an art journaling class.  We met Sunday mornings for three weeks in a row and worked a variety of different creativity challenges.  My manifesto for the class is above.  It reads "This art journal is my special place to record my inner world.  It is a place to download my creative ideas, a place to remember the events of the day, a place to doodle, to draw and to dream."  It was a terrific class, and one of my students, Connie Andrews of Connie's Dream, posted the most wonderful review of it. You can check it out here.  Thanks Connie!
In other news, the woman I think of as my art journaling mentor (even though I've never met her), Dina Wakley is offering a new art journaling class starting at the end of October.  It's $65, but there's a 20% discount if you sign up soon.  You can read more about it here. I've thoroughly enjoyed the classes I've taken from her.  If you click on the class review label below, you should be able to scroll through and read the reviews I've done of here classes.
P.S. This just in . . . the San Francisco Giants won the first game in the playoffs! Yes, I'm a sports fan, and, if you are too, don't forget to enter the sports fan give-away in this post.  The give-away is open until Sunday night California time.

Cave of Pages Project and Class Review

About a week ago, I took a wonderful class with Michael DeMeng called "Cave of Pages." My completed project is called "Immigrant Wishes" and features my maternal grandparents' wedding portrait and some other family heritage photos.  The base is a cigar box, which I covered in acrylic caulking and painted.  I took off the cover of the cigar box and created two layers within the box with paper covered mat board, with openings cut in their centers. Added a variety of found objects and embellishments (a wish bone I've been saving forever, a wooden heart, quilled flowers, burlap, wire, charms on the side, etc) mounted in front and behind the various surfaces to create a finished project that has about ten different levels of depth. I'm very happy with it! The color scheme fits the current Gingersnap Creations challenge for neutrals with a pop of color.

As for the class review, I really enjoyed it, but students should realize it's not one for the faint of heart! Michael's classes are mostly intermediate to advanced, in that you are not given any kind of a kit and told what to do. Instead, he has a variety of samples and he suggests ways to create a project similar to one of the samples.  He explains a bit and then says, "okay, go."  He is VERY available throughout class to help you problem solve and to give advice, but he's not going to tell you exactly what to do step-by-step.  He also intersperses demonstrations on things such as color washes, working with power tools, finding and using the right adhesives, detail painting and other painterly tricks.  The amount of information given out in these demonstrations is enormous - more than I could absorb in a single class.  Luckily, this is the third Michael DeMeng class that I have taken, so I knew what to expect. (You can read more about the other DeMeng classes and his style by clicking on the de meng label at the end of this post.) 

I came prepared with a variety of things to use and a commitment to myself to be brave and jump into the project.  The demos on power tools and color washes were reviews for me, so I kept working on my project and only eavesdropped on  those.  I skipped the adhesive demo entirely because I feel like I've fully absorbed that information.  The detail painting and painterly trick demos were totally new to me (or if I saw them before, I couldn't really absorb them because my brain was already too full).  I learned the "burnt paper trick" which I used on this piece (yes, that's paint, not actual burning!) and also a technique for highlighting certain people in photos by ghosting out the others.  Tried that one on this piece, too. He ends each class with a 30-45 minute critique in which he discusses each and every piece.  All his feedback is positive, and he really helps you see what works for each piece.  This really facilitates learning and understanding and improving for the next project.

Finally, a word about Michael himself.  He's classically trained in art and so really knows painting technique and art theory. This makes him different from someone like Tim Holtz who is fantastic but self-taught. More importantly, Michael is a hilarious and generous man.  He takes time to get to know each and every student and works with them at their level (without making them feel stupid). He has great taste in music and comes equipped with a wonderful mix on his ipod. At the end of a class with him, I always feel like he has given a piece of himself to me and that I have grown as an artist.

LSNE Completed Album & Class Review

I completed my LSNE minialbum for Shimelle's class! You can see it above.  Each page started with a 4.5x6.5" piece of colored chipboard, covered with basic grey paper. I added a stamped image (in black) and a lesson learned for each day. I punched a hole in the top of each page and held it together with a big red ring.  If you click on the label at left for "mini album," you'll be able to see all the pages I made, except for the last four, which are here:

The prompt for Day 27 was about saying yes to things as a way to learn, so I wrote "Agreeing to be the team manager for high school soccer is a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it." Day 28 was about things that make you unique, and my love of Michael DeMeng fits that category.  I took a class of his on the 28th (can't wait to share that project with you!), so I used a stamp designed my Michael and wrote "I thoroughly enjoy the demented world of Michael DeMeng, as well as his more normal side." I learned a ton in that class, and I'll be doing a class review later on.  Day 29 was about helping others, and I realized that I'm still in charge of cat care, even it's my daughter's cat.  Finished out the month with a favorite stamp and quote about learning: "Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere."


As for a class review, I think that, even more than most of Shimelle's classes, you get out of this one what you put in to it.  The content offered was good, but not exceptional. Shimelle offered inspirational posts everyday with prompts for learning and creating, plus lots of examples. I think it could be freshened up a bit; the fact that this was one of the first classes that Shimelle developed kindof showed.   I believe there were digital downloads, but I don't know for sure because, as we say, "that's not the way I roll." There was a forum, but it got quieter as the month went on.  It is worth noting that Shimelle went through a family loss this month, and she's to be applauded for keeping the class on track, even with the sadness and travel that entailed. Other instructors would not have done the same, I think. Overall, I'm glad I did this class and completed the project.  I'll be happy to have it, and I'm really glad I took the opportunity to use some of my enormous rubber stamp collection.  It also helped me stay focused on using September as a month to clean up and organize my office & home art stuff, as well as getting to my academic writing projects and walking. Not sure I'll do the class again in the future, but you never know.  My overall grade: A-.  Thoughts?

Class Review: Bottled Spirits

On Saturday, Sept. 25, I took a class called "Bottled Spirits" with Connie Andrews at C.Andrews Studio in Half Moon Bay.  We started with clean bottles and then altered them to appear as if they were bottles washed ashore, encrusted by time with amazing texture.  Inside each bottle, we placed a spirit that we imagined had been captured in the bottle.  Can you guess which of the bottles above is mine?  How about which one was made by my amazing 12 year old daughter Clara?  Before I tell you, here's my class review. And don't forget that you can always click on any picture to enlarge it and better see the details.
The class was wonderful!  I left the class not only with a wonderful bottled muse but also a newfound confidence in painting altered objects and assemblage.  This has always been the hardest part of altered art for me, and Connie's technique really helped me to "get" it.  The secret was starting with a single base color and then the introduction of a metallic layer before adding a variety of colors.  Another challenge in assemblage and altered art classes can be the question of the proper adhesive.  Connie has solved that problem through her brilliant, innovative use of diamond glaze.  This class was really fun - the process of decorating/embedding things into the bottle and painting both made me really happy.  In addition, the members of the class were all wonderful artists and the chance to spend an enjoyable, stress-free day with my adolescent daughter made it all the better! I know Connie is offering this class a few more times, and I highly recommend it if you are in the San Francisco bay area.  You can find her class schedule at her blog, Connie's Dream.
Now for the reveal.  This is a close up of my bottle:

And this is the one made by Clara:

It really looks like a moody pre-teen spirit to me! LOL! Here's close ups of the other class participants' bottles.  In order of appearance, Maureen, Connie and Cindy (who is apparently a member ot Team Edward, but I like her anyway).

So, do tell, did you guess correctly?

Class Review: Love Your Pictures, Love Your Pages

It's a scrapbooking class. No wait, it's a photography class.  No, I mean it's a series of sketches. No, it's a photoshop class.  Maybe it's a series of e-books.  Actually it's all of those!!!  
I just finished Shimelle's class "Love Your Pictures, Love Your Pages," and I give it an enthusiastic A+! 
The four week class had six prompts each week: three photography prompts; two scrapbooking prompts (which included sketches but also covered design theory and story-telling ideas); and one digital enhancement/photoshop type prompt.  I tended to ignore the last prompt of the week because I don't do that sort of thing, but I still feel like I easily got my money's worth out of this very inexpensive class (16 pounds, but I signed up with the early bird discount and paid about $20 U.S., I think). In addition, there were three free "workbooks" given out at the end of the class - one on technical photography tips; one with a month's worth of sketches; and one with photoshop ideas.  As in all of Shimelle's classes, there was an easily accessible forum and a nice community feel.  Shimmelle monitored the forum, answered questions and participated actively in the class.  One thing I liked about this class was the size of it - it was not too big (like Journal Your Christmas has become). There was something for everybody in this class, and all the "somethings" were very well done - interesting and unique enough so that just about everyone could walk away with some new lessons learned (and maybe some old ideas refreshed).
I completed the above layout in the class.  The photos were taken with the idea of using the floor as a tripod and the sketch came from the "month of sketches" workbook.  Not a typical layout for me, but I love it!
So, if you took the class, I'd love to hear what you thought of it.

"Open" and Class Review of Creativity Boot Camp

I really enjoyed Creativity Boot Camp, a wonderful, free, two week class that gave class participants lots of options for what to get out of it.  Participants were challenged to pick one medium and create something in that medium each day, incorporating  a random prompt.  I chose plaster as my medium because it's something that I had been meaning to explore but hadn't gotten around to working with.  The randomness and openness of the prompts gave me the opportunity to create all kinds of things that I really loved and to discover new ways in which to use plaster.  You can peruse these by checking my labels for plaster or bootcamp  I loved having the push to create every day for two weeks - I think I really grew as an artist and have many more ideas for what to do with plaster.  The class also had a variety of ways to connect with other participants - a comments section, which I liked; a mr. linky tool that was fantastic and easy to use; a blog roll in which I participated; a flickr group (which I ignored - I hate flickr); and some forums which I perused occasionally.  I found several new blogs and artists through the class, who I know will continue to inspire me as I visit their blogs.  The class also had an "assignment" every day - often involving writing.  I didn't do these very often because they didn't really "speak to me," but that was okay! I had thought about a lot of the same things when I worked through The Artist's Way a few years ago.  I think other participants got a great deal out of these activities.  I did love, love, love the photo walk assignment though - such fun!  One of the most interesting things about the class was how it took on a life of its own.  I think it was originally intended to be a fairly small class for a few blog friends, but it drew hundreds of creative, interesting people.  Simply amazing!  CBC is continuing with weekly prompts called "Sunday Creative," and I'm really glad it is.  I want to continue to use plaster and to share my creations with others.  The first Sunday creative prompt was "open," and I used radiant pearls to create this card with an open water lily on plaster.  I hope you like it!
All-in-all, Creativity Boot Camp was a wonderful experience for me and something that allowed people to grow in whatever ways they chose.  As I said before, simply amazing!
If you participated, what did you think about it?  What was your favorite creation?

Class Review: Get Out of Auto Mode

I have such mixed feelings about this class.  On one hand, I learned a ton about my camera and how to use the various creative settings (all the little icon settings, as well as program mode, aperture priority and shutter priority mode). It allowed me to take the portrait of Henry above (which I love) and understand how the various settings (shot in aperture priority mode with f5.6, WB auto, etc.) worked and how I might improve it (set WB to full sun to warm his skin tones; switch lenses so that I can use a lower f stop and blur the background even more; position him just a little to the right to get rid of the triangle of sun on his right cheek).  I could not have done that before class, so I clearly learned a lot.  On the other hand, it wasn't a really fun or pleasant class, and there were a few changes that could have made it a much better experience (although I'm not sure I would have learned a lot more).  Overall, I would give it a B+. And I am not rushing to sign up for the next in the series (Move Into Manual).
There were many positives.  The instructor Elisha Snow is very knowledgeable and writes very clearly about photography.  I think that's harder to do than many people realize.  She covered all the basic elements promised in the class.  She answered all questions posted in the forum in a thorough, clear and informative way.  She added a couple of wonderful tutorials in the class blog.  She gave a helpful, detailed critique at the end of class on one photo submitted by each student.  Also, BPS was very responsive to student feedback and  complaints about how the galleries were initially organized.
So, what didn't I like?  First, the weekly downloaded lessons were waaaay too basic.  The material contained in these was very thin.  I didn't do a word count, but I bet that some were just a few hundred words.  Each week, there was a "bonus" hand out, which generally contained useful information. The class could be vastly improved by taking the useful information from the supplemental handouts and putting them into the regular handout.  The best way to get information in this class was to post a question in the "Ask the Teacher" forum. As I mentioned, the answers to these were very good.  I took to posting a couple general, follow-up questions each week, and the responses were incredibly helpful.  This is the type of information that should have been in the weekly lessons, in my opinion.
Second, the instructor had a policy of not commenting on photos which students posted in the weekly gallery.  I asked about it, and here is her response:

The class gallery was set up specifically for you and other students to post their photos for me and the other students to see and enjoy. There are literally hundreds of photos in the gallery, and while I'd love to be able to comment on every single one of them, it's virtually impossible. That is why it was decided from the beginning that it would be most beneficial for the students in this class to take everything they've learned at the end of class, apply it to one photo, and post it in the gallery for me to critique. When I do critique your photo at the end of class, I take a lot of time to carefully look at each photo and leave both positive feedback and any constructive criticism I may have. If you have specific questions about a photo you've taken, please direct me to it in the gallery and I'd be more than happy to help you one-on-one there. 

Sorry, this response just didn't do it for me.  In every other course I've taken, the instructor has at least poppped by and left a few comments.  Even something basic like, "oooh, cute kid" or "nice background blur" would have made the class feel more warm and inviting and would not have taken much time.  Let me add that at the time she posted this response, there were seven photos in that week's gallery.  Seven. Did this affect how much I learned in the class? Probably not, but it left me with a cold and negative feeling.  Perhaps I should have actively asked in the "Ask the Teacher" forum about specific photos each week.  But I don't think that responsibility should be on students.

 Finally, there was a lack of community in the class.  I met a couple of nice people, but no real community developed.  I think the reason for this was because the initial gallery set-up was very difficult to navigate.  BPS switched things in response to complaints, but, by then, it may have been too late to generate that nice class community feel. BPS sent out a class review form after the class, and I filled it out to give this feedback.

So, what do you think?  Am I being too harsh? Am I expecting too much to want the main content offered up front, rather than in response to questions?  Is it unfair to expect a fun, enjoyable class experience in addition to good content?  The class was $60, more than I usually pay for an online art class, but pretty reasonable for online photography classes.  This was the second time the class was offered, so the instructor did not need to create the content from scratch. Any input from others who also took the class?  Alternative opinions definitely welcomed!

Class Review: Art Journaling 101 & Blog Events

I just finished Art Journaling 101 with Dina Wakley at Get it Scrapped, and it was terrific!  Since I'm not enrolled in any other classes this month, I thought I'd go ahead and post the review now.  The class focused on keeping an art journal as a diary of your daily life, as opposed to keeping an art journal as a sketchbook of ideas. (For some of my thoughts about these two different types of art journals, you can read my post here.)  As such, it focused on translating daily written journaling into art journal pages.  It was a four week class, and each week contained two lessons - one on creating the artwork in your journal and one on the journaling or text portion of the journal.  Dina presented a wonderful method for creating both artwork and journaling, as well as how to integrate them.  There were also weekly videos which presented even more information.  I could not have been happier with the class! I created about a dozen pages, all of which captured events and emotions going on in my life right now.  It helped me develop my artistic skills and work through my feelings about a variety of things.  It truly is art journaling (as art diary) at its best!  The page I featured today is a two page entry about doing laundry.  I know it seems mundane, but I spend a lot of my time doing laundry, and it was fun to journal about it.  You can click on it to see more of the details.  I'm known as the "Laundry Queen" at my house, and the layout presents laundry as a fairy tale because it truly is a never-ending story at my house! 


For my regular blog readers & House Party attendees, here's some updates. I wanted to let you know I updated yesterday's post with stamp credits for all those bird stamps, in case you need to go shopping.  Also, the house kits are starting to land. I'll have a tutorial up on Thursday or Friday. Finally, next week, Ali Edwards is running her "Week in a Life" project, where people are encouraged to capture their everyday life.  I did the project in 2008 (you can see some of it here), and I liked it a lot.  I feel like the art journal from this class is capturing the same thing.  So, next week to play along with Ali, I will post an art journal page each day that represents my daily life!

March Class Review

Who am I? (collage)

I took two classes this month: Shimelle's Something From (almost) Nothing and Connie Andrew's Collage Challenge Class.  I'll start with Shimelle's class, although my comments may not make me too popular.  And I welcome alternate opinions.

Shimelle's class was designed to get you to use up scrapbook supplies from your stash and to create pages.  I enjoyed it, and I definitely got my money's worth.  I think the basic structure was good, and there were some wonderful ideas for ways to use up supplies like ribbon, metal and alphabet stickers. Also, it helped me realize that there are some things I will never use.  I'm going to be getting those out of my stash and into the donation pile!  On the other hand, there were a few disappointments in the class.  For instance, I would have preferred for there to be a more definite theme and journaling prompts for for the optional album. I am happy with the album I made (especially because it was just sitting in my stash), but Shimelle is such a journaling guru that I would have loved to have gotten a bit more in that regard.  Second, I thought that a couple of the prompts were not that innovative.  For instance, the flower and chipboard prompts didn't seem to offer many new ideas. The page protector prompt was also a little odd to me  because I don't generally want to "use up" my page protectors.  Luckily, I did find some off-size page protectors that I wanted to use up and have found them very useful for holding newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Finally, the class did not go as scheduled.  Shimelle added a few "inspiration" posts, featuring classmates' blogs, and challenges.  These were additional, not in lieu of the regular prompts, but they did change the timing of things a bit.  I really loved and enjoyed the challenges.  To me, they were a definite, unexpected value-added.  On the other hand, I found the inspirational posts less interesting. While I like a class to run on the advertised schedule, I'm willing to put up with a little slide in the schedule (especially in exchange for an added value like the challenges).  However, I find the slide in the schedule for this class to have become long enough to be annoying.  The final post is now scheduled to come on Monday (almost a week late in a class that was originally scheduled to only go three weeks).  On the whole, I give the class a thumbs up because it was unbelievably inexpensive to begin with; however, I don't think it was up to Shimelle's usual high standards.

Connie's class was a terrific experience.  Like everyone else, I arrived at class with only brushes and a pair of scissors. The goal was to make a collage by the end of the three hour class, using materials and a theme provided by Connie.  She gave each of us an 8x10 canvas and told us that the theme of the collage was "Alice in Wonderland."  She then passed around images and phrases for us to use as a starting point.  After that, we were free to create whatever we wanted, using the huge array of paints, acrylic mediums, and collage supplies she brought with her.  Everyone jumped right in and created terrific pieces.  You can see them all at her blog here.  I loved the opportunity to create without having to haul out all my stuff, and I was thrilled with the collage I created.  My collage is up top, and it features photographs that Lewis Carroll took of the girl for whom he created the Alice in Wonderland stories.  The journaling, taken from the book, reads "Who in the world am I? Ah, that's the great puzzle!  I can't explain myself, I'm afraid, Sir, because I'm not myself you see."  The background is textured gel medium, painted with acrylic paints.  It was really interesting to create a completed collage in three hours.  It taught me a lot about what I can do, and I'm thankful for the experience.  I'll definitely take her next collage challenge class!