My Art Journal sessions are broken up into four weeks. Each four-week session is themed. These cute little birds are from Art Journal-Fly Away where we worked with creatures that had wings.
These background pages started out with just a few stripes of acrylic paint colors and some water. Pretty darn boring! But we learned to work it into a beautiful background to display our winged birds on.
DecoArt acrylic paints spritzed with water.
Combining other mixed–media products with stamps, stencils and more, we were able to create the most beautiful backgrounds.
Die-but bird added to background.
It’s just so much fun and very relaxing to just sit and play with no end-game in sight. Your page may never be done or it can feel complete in a quick 10 minutes.
Die-cut birds stacked atop each other create a colorful scene.
Art Journaling requires no art background, just a willingness to express yourself while playing with paper and paints.
Teaching classes at the CoBACH center in Brighton came to an abrupt halt back in October when the center was closed for building maintenance. With no word on when it might reopen I decided to try the classes in my home. I won’t lie, it’s been cozy but it’s also been fun and rewarding.
My most popular has been my Art Journal sessions. I never thought I could enjoy something as much as this form of free-form crafting. It’s a way to incorporate products you most likely already have and chances are haven’t used much.
From Art Journal-Fly Away
My Art Journal classes are offered in four-week sessions. Each week I teach a different technique and the students play with that technique, experimenting to make it their own. They’re able to see how other products they may have at home or items found around the house can be worked into their art journal.
It’s fun to watch the students grow each week and become a little more free in their interpretations of the projects.
We’ve had to limit class size for these but hopefully the CoBACH Center will reopen early next year and I’ll be able to accept additional students. The sessions have continually sold out.
Heat guns, acrylic paints, tissue papers, glazing mediums and more!
In the meantime we just keep plugging along having a grand ol’ time right here in my living room where I set up extra tables, push the furniture back, put out the chocolates, and we all get nice and cozy to play and socialize.
I never claimed to be an artist. I couldn’t tell you which colors will play off each other nicely, how to draw a face, the fundamental concepts of composition and design (heck, I don’t even know what that means!). What I do know is how to sit and create (play with my stuff).
Such a whimsical beauty from Funky Flora Art Journal class.
I also know that when I take the time to sit, create, and play, I can lose myself for hours and totally forget about the world around me and just totally relax and let go. It’s something I feel a lot of us feel guilty about the taking the time for. We need play time, whether that be creating art, gardening, cooking, reading. We just need it. It’s good for the soul.
I love the vibrant yellow used on the background of this Funky Flora Art Journal page.
Getting back into teaching forces me to sit and play with all my pretty (and ugly) papers, paints, inks, tools and all those products I bought and can’t remember why. Those who attend my classes are also forced, if only for two hours, to sit, create, play, and socialize. I actually call it creative playtime for adults. They make new friends, they get messy, and they relax and have fun. Some even continue with playtime once they leave class because there is homework – if they choose to do it.
These hexagons were all cut by hand from photos – The creativity is amazing!
I’ve been teaching Art Journaling and Scrap your Stash at the CoBACH Center in Brighton; hoping to develop even more classes soon. I am a member of the Brighton Art Guild. Yep, thrown in there with all those talented, crazy-good creatives. It’s been wonderful.
Using what’s in your stash. Mix and match papers and embellies with some technique.
Join us for an upcoming class; we’re always looking to make new friends. Check out my offerings in my online store. To see an even greater sampling of student works, stop by my Facebook page. Give it a Like!
Linda Neff 