It's been a very busy few weeks in my corner of the world - I've been taking Sarah Whitmire's Advanced Soul Journaling online course, which was a delight, and I highly recommend it. As part of the course, you get weekly 18 - 25 page fully illustrated sets of instruction, learning multiple new techniques. They are all very do-able, and really don't require any odd or funky materials, so no need to run off to your nearest art supply store. Of course, you know you'll want to ;-). Sarah also has a Yahoo group especially for the class that runs from a few weeks before, until three weeks after the five-week class finishes, and there are weekly online chats on Sunday nights where you can interact with the other class members, talk to Sarah, and just enjoy a sense of community. 
Here are a few pages from the early parts of the lessons. I note this because, well, I'm rather behind. I actually considered that I was doing fairly well with attending most of the online chats , but I am definitely rather a late finisher (actually, nowhere near finished) on the class instructions! Ah well, art is not a race to the finish. I am going to finish up the project upon my return from Art and Soul Virginia - which is (yikes!!) starting four days from now.
Art and Soul has been one of my "must-see's" for a few years now, but I didn't really have any plans to attend. Then, I sort of got a wild hair, realized (no doubt due to the economy) that there were still lots of classes available even two weeks before the event, and just decided to jump in with both feet and go. I'm not attending the entire event, just three days, should be more than enough art to keep me inspired for months to come. I'm very excited to be taking classes on drawing, color theory and mixing, assemblage with lighting, and metal patina work. These are all areas that I definitely can use some expert advice in, and with Claudine, Jane Wynn, Leighana Light, and Juliana Coles at the helm, I think I'm going to learn a LOT!Wishing you an artful spring weekend!
