So, about Suzi Blu...

Where to start describing an experience that changed your life and helped you believe things about yourself that you never would have thought possible?

My interest in art journaling prompted me to find YouTube videos to watch- and that was when I first came across Miss Suzi Blu. She had a whole bunch of free tutorials on there that were fun and informative. I watched every single one of them, I couldn't get enough. I watched Suzi demonstrate things and thought, "I might be able to do something like that- and I want to try!"

I did a search and found Suzi's website, "A Lovely Dream", at http://suziblu.typepad.com/ and saw that she offered online drawing classes, both in stylized faces and folk art dolls. There was a promotional video for "The Goddess and the Poet" which I watched two whole times in its entirety. You wanna know what really got me determined to sign up?

Suzi said she believes that everyone can learn to draw. That she believes we should all be kind and patient with ourselves and our mistakes and let our inner artist come out. Negativity is discouraged- well, trampled down with positivity, actually! Now I know she wasn't talking about or to me specifically, but here's The Thing: it felt like she was.

When you learn with Suzi, you are in for a real experience of the life-changing kind! All of the videos are filmed with a "you-can-do-this" attitude mixed with humour, good solid instruction, and constant reminders to take it slow, enjoy the process, and to expect mistakes. We were always encouraged to embrace our mistakes, to see them as part of our learning process.

Permission to make mistakes? Sign me up! lol That was definitely an environment I could embrace and learn in!

So, I signed up for The Goddess and the Poet, and got the Angels class too. I went right out and got some basic supplies and started watching the videos that make up the class. And I drew, every single day. I was addicted!

Drawing is fascinating and relaxing, and it gives me a real sense of accomplishment. Why? Because unlike some of the other artsy things I do, when I draw- even when I am trying to imitate my teacher- I am making something so unique to ME, something no one else has drawn exactly. I hope I am explaining myself properly.

I plucked up my courage and started posting even my beginner photos, of eyes, noses, lips... and moved on to faces and such. I can draw a face!!!

When you post something in the homework area, it gets specific feedback from Suzi- what works, what you could do to make it work better (if you want), etc. I don't know how on earth she managed all of the critiques, but she did. It was really great to see my work through her eyes, because I was finding that looking at it for so long kind of made me lose perspective.

The Student Gallery is a place for the students to post photos of what they are working on for everyone to see, and that really helps too. Not only is it inspiring as all get out, but it helped me see what I was doing right and wrong for myself, because I could see what appealed to me, and how it was the same or different to what I was doing.

Besides the personal attention, the classroom set up is great! I have "met" a lot of really cool people at Suzi Skool (http://suziblu.ning.com/). I follow their blogs and learn from them too!

After Goddess & Poet was finished, I signed up for Piety & Passion, which focused on side profiles and the 3/4 view of the face. That was harder, and I don't know that I really understand the placement of things yet, but since we get to keep the videos from the classes (which is a HUGE bonus!), I can re-visit it at any time and go through it- again and again if I need to.

I was fortunate enough to be able to buy the Petit Dolls Beginner and Advanced classes too, when they were offered one last time. I haven't gotten through too many of those yet, but again, since I have them to keep, I can do that at my leisure.

After a lot of debate with myself, I decided I wasn't able to commit to any other classes at this time, due to my volunteer work at my daughter's high school, and so I didn't sign up for the Mermaid class, sadly.
But I am still a member of the school and am able to see the wonderful things that everyone is producing! How fun is that?

If you need further motivation to sign up for a Suzi class, consider this: you will not only learn how to draw something (and that in itself is pretty amazing), but you will learn other things about yourself- like how much creativity and imagination you really have! And you will find it coming out in SO many different ways during and after a class with Suzi Blu.

I know I think bigger and so much differently about my art- and my life- than I did before I started. Sign up- you won't be sorry!

Independence Girls!

Happy Fourth of July all!

As any of you who follow my blog already know, I have been taking online classes with Suzi Blu since January. And as I am sure you also know, I have had an absolute blast of a time while I learn.

Earlier in the week, Suzi challenged all of us to make a Fourth of July piece. We have to put it in the student gallery at Suzi Blu's Les Petit Academy for our fellow artists to see and comment on (and my fellow artists are the most incredibly supportive group EVER), and then do a post on our blogs about our experiences in Suzi's Underground Art Skool. Here is the link: http://suziblu.ning.com/

So here is my piece, even though I feel it is not quite done yet.  What fun I had making it, especially trying to figure out that crazy hair! Being a Canadian who has just had the temporary residency status taken off of her green card (I am a legal resident alien now! lol), I thought it only fitting to do both a Canadian AND American girl. (We just celebrated Canada's birthday on July 1st).

For some unknown reason, my photos rarely do my work justice. When I look at this piece in person, I don't see everything so defined- yet here, as I look, things stand out too much... I really think I need to invest in some kind of better flash or light to photograph my stuff!

This is done on glass primed with gesso. There is a map of the US and Canada in the background, along with paints, colored pencils, stamps, paper, Angelina fibers (the hair!), sequins (I just happened to have red, white, and blue stars and red maple leaves!), irrrdescent medium, bleeding tissue, and lots of Titan Buff paint- I still don't have their faces right and keep going over them. But at this point, I am running out of time to post, so posting I am!

My move here to the States HAS been an adventure in both happiness and immigration! And since moving here, I am learning new things all of the time, not the least of which is about art.

I will just say, for anyone who has ever wanted to learn to draw but thought they could never do it, these classes will change your mind. Besides learning some really good basics in a wonderfully supportive way, you will find yourself surrounded by a fantastic group of fellow artists, and led by a teacher who is funny,  gifted, and so wonderful to learn from.

There are no "requirements" to get things done, for things to look a certain way. In fact, the way Suzi approaches her teaching with an attitude that everything we all make is art. She wants us to know that we need to foster patience with ourselves and the process of learning. We are encouraged to copy her examples, because that is how the masters learned it- and no one's art looks like anyone else's anyway! lol

Most of all, what has helped me grow in confidence is the knowledge that I can always fix my mistakes or work them into something else. There is such a freedom in that! It's blanket permission to just get into the studio and make what moves me at that moment without all of the stress and worry that it might not be right or good enough.

Taking classes with Suzi is the best thing I have ever done for myself- because I NEED to create and I, like many other artists, flourish when I am inspired and encouraged by like-minded, generous, talented people.

I know a number of talented women who follow my blog and whose blog I follow, are my fellow students with Suzi, and they know exactly what I am talking about.

If you are not already a Suzi student, why not click on this link and check out the available classes? http://alovelydream.com/site/Workshops.html
If you have a little time this summer, you can even try a class for a discounted price right now. If you sign up, you still have till September to submit your work for feedback. It's a great deal! If you want access to the critique rooms for a whole semester, the new classes will start in September. You will never know the heights you can reach until you try.

Just in case you are wondering after reading this post: no, I am not being paid to promote Suzi Skool. lol I just want to share with you something that has really changed my life by helping me see that I too, can create beautiful things, and express myself in so many ways as an artist!

Elizabeth...

Hello all! It's been a while since I posted- it's been crazy here; last few days of school, helping the girls get ready for their trip to Ottawa, getting things set for our vacation.

Now that I have things organized, let me show you what I have been working on in between cleaning and packing!

One of the Suzi Blu classes I am taking right now is called Piety & Passion. It is a part two of the portraits class (the first is Goddess & Poet- FANTASTIC!). We are learning to draw the face from the side and the 3/4 view, very challenging. But we have a theme- the Tudors! How fun is that? This leaves room for lots of mixed media embellishment and it is a blast!

This first photo shows the sketch I started with:

This next photo shows what I submitted for critique last week... and believe me, it looks a LOT better than when I started adding colour to her. She had this giant head of screaming red hair and it was TOO much! lol And the border, made with torn squares of paper, angelina fibres, and paint was too- I don't know what. Defined maybe.
The pink was my solution to re-unify the piece in order to go forward. The paint had to be thick, so I added some texture with the end of my paint brush. Oh, and the velvet for her dress.

This is what I am submitting this week.

I am playing with things to add texture, I want to see how they work, how they look, how they play with other products I use in the work. I am also trying to remember to do the push-pull thing. 

This photo is not very good- the light is reflecting on the metallic paint on her eye and even the inks seem to be picking up the light. 

This step has left the piece much less defined and more chaotic. Kind of like life in general right? lol
No matter how organized I try to be, no matter how good my plans are, life always seems blurrier and less defined than I counted on. But you know what? I am really becoming okay with that. Maybe this new life of mine is finally teaching me to let go of my need for so much control over things. This class is sure teaching me to go with the flow- and not to give up, no matter how awful a piece looks to me at some point. I now actually feel there is very little in my art that I can't make pleasing in the end.

I feel that this piece is not done, but I am not sure what she needs. I will think on it. Maybe when I come home from our holidays, I will have a fresh enough eye to KNOW what she needs.

Did I tell you that next week my wonderful husband and I are going to Italy for a two-week vacation?! I have pinched myself so many times this past week... between the volcanic eruption in Iceland and the strike at British Airways (we are flying with them), I just didn't let myself get my hopes up that this trip of a lifetime would actually happen. But it IS!!!

We will fly in and out of Milan, and spend time in Lake Como, Turin, Genoa, Cinque Terre, Lucca, Pisa, and Florence. From what I have read, I could be happy spending the whole two weeks in Florence... *sigh*

My husband is not much into art, but I am dragging him to at least a few galleries anyway! I just can't even imagine what this trip will be like... One of our assignments in this Piety & Passion class is to take a field trip to a gallery or museum and draw a portrait from a sculpture. Holy cow, can you think of a better place to do that than Italy????

I will put up a blog about it when I get home and hopefully have lots of sketches and things to show you too!

What I have been up to..

Well, mostly what I have been up to is gardening and playing catch-up, like I mentioned in my last post.

But I did squeeze in some bits and bobs of stuff when I could.

I finished my Arte Journal entry, "Who Do I Think I Am?" and it is COMPLETELY different than my vision of it when I started. Can't even tell you where it came from. But here it is:

And I have done another layer on my wood angel. Made her hair red, but scraped away some of it and then you can still see the blonde underneath.

I submitted this to the critique of my class, and Suzi's suggestion was to add some depth to the lines where her wings meet the background and a little where her hair meets her wings. I also thought I might add a little more texture to the middle of her wings, but I will have to see what I think after I add the darker colour to it.

Today I will be starting my Elizabeth on wood for the Piety & Passion class. I have several 3/4 sketches to choose from. I just need to pick one, attach her and get going! 

If I have time to pick up a couple of new paint colours, I will do the next step on this angel too. I don't have a lot of colours at home, I tend to buy them as I need them.

And last but not least, my new Susan Tuttle book came in just yesterday, "Digital Expressions: Creating Digital Art with Adobe Photoshop Elements", and I have barely had time to look! 

Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love to take photographs. My goal is to fill our home with our photos, some just the way they are, and some altered and played with... 

At this point in time, we have so little on the walls. But of what we do have up, my favourite is my 3D fabric photo that I made in a class with Heather Thomas. It is hung up close to my computer desk and makes me happy every time I see it! (Some of you have already seen this, it was taken on our trip to Portugal last year)

The definition of art

Well, last week we all got back to our normal routine and I had a number of things to catch up on, having been on that two-week hiatus looking after my sweet husband.


When I was thinking about what to blog about here, at first I felt bad that I didn't have photos of more completed works to show. Then I replayed my week in my mind and had to write this post to remind myself, and maybe others out there, that even what we might consider menial chores in our lives, can be considered art if we carry them out with our best intentions and lots of love.


This is a dictionary definition of art: Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way to affect the senses or emotions. 
Do you see what I mean? Art surrounds us. There is art everywhere, in everything we see, in everything we do.


So I enjoy my work around our home, instead of dreading it or putting it off. I love our home to be clean, to smell and look good, to be welcoming to our loved ones. I love our gardens to be full of beautiful things to look at and delicious things to eat. I love our dinner plates to hold colourful meals filled with textures and delightful aromas and flavours. Thankfully Rich is feeling better and enjoying food again!


For the whole week, I kept busy with many things: house cleaning, cooking, hardening off luscious little seedlings for the garden, some reorganizing and sorting for spring, etc.


One of my reorganization jobs was my studio. Just recently, my daughters have expressed an interest in creating some things with me and it got me thinking about the space and set up in my studio. It housed everything I needed, but was strictly functional, not pretty or inspiring, and not well laid out at all- there was too much wasted space.


Armed with graph paper, I drew the floor plan and all of the furniture, and came up with a new layout for the room, one which would allow much more space and light around my work table. I packed a few boxes (well labeled for later!) of things I am not using right now, and stored them on shelves in the basement.


I prettied up the windows, stapled a little skirt around the work table, ordered a set of three stools (I had previously swiped one from the kitchen), and organized supplies so that everything is easily within reach.


When the chairs arrive, hopefully next week, I will take a couple of photos. Thankfully I don't have to wait any longer to go back in there and play!


Today I spent the entire day fighting the lovely Colorado clay soil, readying my garden for plants and seeds. It was windy but hot and sunny and just a glorious day to be outside! Even though I have been just aching to get into my studio and draw, I was very pleased to get so much work done in my garden.


Tomorrow I will take a couple of photos of my angel on wood- I have added a couple more layers- and will submit it to Suzi's Angel class. I haven't submitted anything in a while. And I will take a photo of my latest journal entry for you to see- I haven't a clue where it came from, but boy, was it a lot of fun to make as it took on its own direction! And who knows, I may be able to carve out some time with my favourite pencil...

On a roll!

I took advantage of the peace and quiet of today to work on some things in my beloved studio. Having my husband home for the last few days recuperating from surgery has meant a modified schedule for me- and LOTS of time to spend in my studio. I don't even know where all this energy and all of these ideas come from- I am just bubbling over with creative juices!

Now that I am doing a lot of mixed media, I like to have two or three things to work on simultaneously- while the gel medium dries on one project, I can paint another, and while the paint dries, I can move on to something else.

Of course with an art quilt in the works and my trusty sketchbook, there is always something to pick up at a moment's notice. 

It is a bit astonishing to me: since January, I have actually completed a number of things instead of just dreaming about them! lol

First thing I did today was embellish the cover of my Moleskine sketch book. I sanded it yesterday to get it ready to hold tight to whatever I decided to slap on it this morning!

I painted, collaged, distressed, glued, glittered, and wrote on it. I am really happy with how it came out- and a little surprised too, as I had no plan at all when I started.

Next I did the next stage of my fairy. I had attached her to the backing and coloured her with my Prismacolors.

Today I did some painting and dripping, collaged some words and phrases into the background and did her wings. I really like her wings- I cut some white organza into little pieces and collaged them on with gel medium. Using little pieces instead of one big one gives her some texture and interest. She is not finished, but getting there...

Lastly, I made a copy of a recent sketch and attached it to my wood with matte medium. After it dried a bit, I sketched in the rest of her hair and her wings. Then took out my wood burning tool and added the feathers that will make up her wings. I haven't done any big things like this with the wood burner before. It was a little hot after a while and my hand got tired by the time I was finished, but I have to say, it was fun. And I like that I will be able to work the paint into the grooved pattern. Not sure exactly what the next step is.

Well, I guess it should be her face. Since I used a copy of my drawing, the ink ran when I attached it to the wood, so she looks all grey- but she won't stay that way, she will be all peachy and pure-looking when I get through with her! lol

Stay tuned for updated photos as I get stuff done!

Sidetracked... but lesson learned

I have been making things for as long as I can remember. Creating things or making them nicer has always been a passion of mine, as well as a wonderful stress reliever. Not to mention it was one way I could give gifts to those I cared about, even on a very tight budget.

I am chair of a couple of committees for the Columbine HS Band Boosters and one of them is the Banquet committee. Every year we give the graduating Seniors a little gift. Last year one of the senior's mothers donated the gifts and took care of it all- very cool!

This year I was not so lucky and was left to figure out what to do. You understand we have a TINY budget for this, right? lol

So, I resigned myself to giving up precious studio time to decorate inexpensive photo frames. Thankfully I have fully embraced the shabby chic way of doing things, or I would NEVER have been able to pull it off.

After hours of sanding, painting and re-painting, collaging, sealing, and reassembling, they are finally finished. All THIRTY of the darn things. No two are exactly alike, but they are enough alike that one photo gives you the general idea.

I won't be at the banquet so I won't see anyone's reaction. I hope the kids like them- but honestly, I don't want to hear about it if they don't!

This band project really sidetracked me and kept me from doing what I wanted to be doing. But I will have you know, I have learned my lesson.

I have always helped out with things, I have always said yes, I have always offered my services. I have always felt that if I didn't step up to the plate, no one would. I guess I could get into a long psychological analysis of myself, trying to figure out why...

But I won't. I just know better now. Doing art, surrounding myself with creative, generous people, and exploring my boundaries has taught me that thinking of my time and myself as worthwhile is necessary, not selfish.

I think volunteer work is important to a well-rounded life and I intend to always give some of my time to something or other. But I also now know how valuable  my time is and that it is perfectly acceptable for me to choose what I want to do rather than getting railroaded or feeling guilty about it. It is also perfectly acceptable for me to say no without explanations.

I have chosen to keep a board position for next year and have given up all of my committees, without a worry about who will do it next- because someone will just have to do it. And it does not have to be me! lol

Because I am an artist

Something strange is happening to me.

Every time I look at someone, at some point I catch myself examining where the shadows fall on their face so I can sketch better.

Leftover hardware from hanging a new light fixture is quickly squirreled away in my studio because I just had a flash of the perfect wall hanging to make for our newly decorated dining room.

My little pencil case containing my sketching pencils, kneaded eraser, ruler, and circle template goes with me a LOT of places, just in case.

I have purse sized sketch pads and notebooks which are filled with ideas, sketches, and scribbles.

I used my colour tool to shop for my silk curtains and other accessories- I took it to the store with me and agonized over shades of red, red orange, and orange.

I go to bed with grandiose ideas of new projects and things I want to do to make our home more lovely.

I plan my day so that I always have time in my studio- even just to dream if nothing else. And I do that because I have come to believe that what I create is important- THAT I create is important.

I am not the same person I once was. I see and experience things so differently than I used to. I am compelled to create, it is not a choice!

I may never sell anything I make, or become well-known for anything I do.

But one thing is becoming crystal clear to me:

I see things differently because I am using an artist's eye.
I experience things differently because I believe I can re-create my feelings about something with my art.
I am compelled because I have things to say- and I believe that someone wants to hear them.

Because I am an artist. Yep- ME. Little old me. Suzi says so. But you know what? I say so too!

And I will keep saying it out loud to keep things happening on this wonderful road of discovery!

Angel class

In addition to the Goddess & Poet class I originally signed up for, I got the Angel class too, but that class assumes you know how to make either a Goddess face or a Petit Doll one, so I had to pretty much finish the G&P class before moving on.

There is just a month left in the critique that comes with the class and as I want at least a little bit of feedback, I thought I had better get into gear! lol

So here is my first angel. I don't know if she is done yet, but she is wet with paint so my hands are tied right now.

Heather Thomas commented on my lioness yesterday about not adding things just for the sake of adding, and I know she is right. What I am looking to see if I need more of is shading, shadow, or integration of colour somewhere.

I have discovered that painting is much like quilting in that you have to think carefully about what you want to come forward and what should recede, where you place your colours for the effect you want, and not adding some random thing just for the sake of having it.

I am so far from understanding composition, colour, and perspective. But I am learning as I go, and I do try to put my (very) limited knowledge to the best use I can.

I think it will be very interesting to see how my work progresses as my understanding of these elements increases.

the Lioness again

Okay, so I didn't like the off-balance of the quilt; the shapes under her neck stood out too much and so I have been looking at it hung up on my design wall.

Since then, I have enhanced her face with paints, coloured the bottom with oil pastels, sprayed walnut ink on the bottom, added some melted textiva, and burned bits with a wood burning tool.

Now the bottom is darker and more uniform than it was, but I am still not sure I have it right. It is hanging up again so I can look at it some more...

Next painting

I got lesson five done this week too. Lots of layers and embellishments.

Many times during this assignment I did things that I REALLY didn't like. But, I didn't panic, just added something else and kept going until I DID like it.

This piece is just 6"x12", but a tad too long for the scanner so I had to photograph it. Unfortunately I just can't seem to get a photo that shows the colours the way they look in person.

Last week I ordered a field guide for my camera, as I really need to learn to use it better before our trip to Italy this summer.

Who knows, maybe I will also learn how to take better photographs of my art along the way... (I have a sneaking suspicion that my problems may be partly due to poor lighting).

Anyway, here she is, my Rain Goddess. If you click on her, you can see it a bit bigger than it is in this post.

And Holly, if you read this and see it- when you are here this summer, hopefully I will have a bigger collection of works and you can have a good look in person to see what you would like to take home with you. I am very flattered that you like what I am learning! Love you!

my painting for class

Can I just say again how much fun I am having and how much I love my Goddess & Poet class with Suzi Blu... this has been a wonderful experience for me all around.

So this is my first painting for the class, Lesson Four. Keep in mind that this is a mixed media class- thus the many layers and textures.

I just love it! There wasn't a lot of conscious thought throughout the process, I tried not to over think things, but just DO.

I am just thriving in the "no mistakes in art" zone too.

When I took a class with Heather Thomas, she commented to me that I was not a perfectionist, and I didn't know if that was a good thing or not, and I worried a little. But I believe it was meant as a positive thing, because perfectionism can definitely get in the way of letting our art out, of letting it be what it wants to be!

I have accepted the fact that I will never make a stunning pieced quilt with perfect corners or curves. But someday I might make a stunning art quilt that speaks about what I want to create...

There is just one lesson left for this class, another painting on wood. I did the sketch for it this morning while I waited for poor Heidi to get her wisdom teeth out. (She is now resting comfortably on the couch with an ice pack and a movie line-up...)

I am also in Suzi's Angels class but haven't gotten too far on it yet. I have a sketch ready for wood and will hopefully get it going this week. I need more modeling paste... can't do decent angel's wings without modeling paste!

Just last week Suzi introduced a brand new class: Piety & Passion- 3/4 and profile portraits based on the Tudors. How fun is that?! So of course I signed up for that as well. Expect to see a lot more art work in the coming weeks!

AFter that, Petit Dolls... I am going to learn it all and then cover our walls and my studio with it!!! lol

If you like mixed media and fun, check out the classes Suzi offers- they are WELL worth the small price. You get to keep the instructional videos forever, and the critique is available for the whole semester, which is usually four months. Plus you can keep in touch with other artists on the same pathway as you are on! Here is a link to the class descriptions:
http://alovelydream.com/site/Workshops.html

Lioness

I just finished a small mixed-media art quilt that I am pretty happy with.

I started by drawing a picture of a woman who looks a little lion-like, printed it onto Lutradur that was treated with Golden Digital Grounds, and then I fused it onto a piece of fabric. The background fabric is sepia-toned sheet music all overlapped. You can see that behind the face a little and that is just what I wanted.

I added a couple of borders and then went to work!

Using yellow-gold, green, and yellow-green, I painted some hair- with acrylic paint mixed with glazing liquid so it was transparent.

Then I laid strands of this gold-toned fuzzy yarn I had and I loved the look! I attached it temporarily by dabbing points here and there with gold paint.

I fused some snippets of the gold border fabric under her chin, and I like it, though now I can see that they probably stand out a little too much and I will need to decide how to tone them down, make them recede some.

Then I stamped some words throughout her "mane".

I made it into a quilt sandwich and did a large meandering stitch to tack down the yarn. I did do a tiny bit in between the larger areas too, but not much.

I stitched around the fabric snippets and then kind of filled in the rest of the bottom area with a mirroring-type of quilting stitch. I did all of this with a metallic thread and even though I went as slowly as I could (and still keep my stitches fairly even), the paint made it tough overall, and I broke FOUR machine needles on this small project!

I trimmed the quilt and simply used a machine blanket stitch to finish the edges. I didn't want a raw edge, but neither did I want the feel of a tailored edge; I thought it would seem too finished for the composition.

So with all I have done to this poor fabric, it is not laying completely flat so it is currently blocked and stretched a tiny bit- I want to hang this in the house here and need it to lay flat...

Here it is- please feel free to make suggestions, especially about how to make the fabric snippets become more of the background because I have not yet figured out what best to do. I thought it best to look and think on it for a while rather than rushing in and ruining what I like...

Now to finish my latest Suzi Blu class project- I will be posting a photo of that too as soon as it is dry!

Learning to draw portraits- YIKES!

Just kidding, I have only been at it a week, but have had so much fun and enjoyed it so much, it's hard to believe.

I somehow stumbled upon some YouTube videos of Suzi Blu, an unconventional and completely enthralling mixed media artist. After watching a few of her art journal videos, I discovered that she has an online school, Les Petit Academy (I will list everything you might want to know at the end of this post). Well, I was hooked. I have to say, it was calling to me, I was even dreaming about it- and have also since I started. It is on my mind most of the time.

Anyway, I am at the end of a week, and have practiced the exercises for hours. I have even tucked a little 3.5 x 5" sketch book in my purse- anytime we go somewhere that I might have to wait a bit, I can practice. I really love it.

I am taking the Goddess & Poet class first; Suzi covers all of the bases in there, and we learn stylized, more realistic faces. Next I will take the Angels class; I think that builds on either the G & P or the Petit Dolls. After that, definitely the Petit Dolls; they are folk art girls and a lot of fun too, from what I can see.

I think a LOT of people wish they could draw, at least a little, and I am no exception. However, I did take the step to try and learn. I want to be less afraid of what people think of me and what I create- and just create already! lol

So, here are two faces for you to check out. The first one is alright I think, but looks a little too stern. I like the second one better, but after I finished, I realized I might have spaced her eyes a little too far apart. I don't know, I will have to wait and see how my critique goes. Chloe asked me if I wasn't going to draw any happy faces? I told her that eventually I will; but this class is about Goddesses- you know, confident, sexy women, and so they have to show that they KNOW they are cool.

If you want to learn more about mixed media fun, check out Suzi's videos here:
http://www.youtube.com/ and in the search box, type in Suzi Blu
If you like what you see and want to sign up for a class, go here:
http://suziblu.typepad.com/
You have to sign up for a class before you can log in to Les Petit Academy, which is here:
http://suziblu.ning.com/

Fairy Jar a la Suzi Blu!

I have signed up for a Suzi Blu drawing class online- The Goddess & The Poet, but haven't been able to start yet. I'm guessing this is because the lovely Suzi Blu has been at CHA... hopefully soon though, I have all my supplies and am chomping at the bit to get started!

Anyway, in the meantime, I have been watching numerous YouTube Suzi videos and I find her so inspiring!

My friend Mona's birthday is this coming weekend and I wanted to make her something to keep in her studio- then I saw the Captured Fairy Jar by Suzi and said "AHA!!!" lol

I didn't have the same supplies exactly, but as I have a good imagination and a lofty supply of cool and interesting things in my studio, I didn't have any trouble substituting.

And here is what I came up with! The front of the jar says "BELIEVE" and the tag I wrote on the back says: "Believe- not only in the magic of the world around you, but in your own Beauty- your own Talent- your own Strength" Something I think we should all do!

I painted the sky inside the jar and stuck on stars, I added glitter, flowers, and a fairy like Suzi, but instead of moss at the bottom of the jar I have glass marbles and funky yarn. I tied many layers of tulle and organza to the top (to keep the fairy in) and used lots of ribbons to tie it shut and hang the metal tags from. The tags say: believe, create, inspire, dream, and savor. There are some teeny tiny bells and also a couple of heart charms.

I hope Mona looks at this jar often and remembers that she is valued as a friend and is an inspiration to me.

It was fun to make and I am on a roll!