As promised in part 1, Curious about our kid's art classes?  We mentioned the idea that many adults have, you know the,"I am not creative" idea.  I can not tell you how many times I have had an adult tell me, "I don't have a creative bone in my body!" Well I do not believe that to be true. I am a big believer that all humans are innately creative beings. It is true that many of us have thrown up blocks to our creativity. It is true that not all of us will have our work featured in a museum or gallery, but it is not true that we are not creative. I believe this with my whole heart. There are many types of creativity at play in your life everyday. From the dinner you cooked, to the creative way you solved a problem in the office today. Your life is filled with creative decisions every day. I also think it is true that creativity is a practice that can be strengthened. You can learn to be more creative...
There are many studies which discuss the benefits of fostering your creativity through some sort of creative outlet. Benefits like:

• Reduced levels of stress.
• Improved sense of well being.
• Helps to decrease your negative thoughts.
• Helps you maintain focus.
• Helps build connections in the brain.
• Helps you process your thoughts and feelings.

There is no prior experience required in either art or meditation, all levels are welcome to attend any of the classes.
This fun and relaxed class will help you to look at ways to use creativity and art to enrich your life, relax, rejuvenate, express yourself, and even meditate! We are not affiliated with any religion, all beliefs are welcome.

Special Events

Get crafty this Fall with these fun crafts found on Pinterest!

Don't have any supplies handy? No worries! Join us here at the studio during our Open Studio Sessions:

For this art prompt all you will need is:

• Old magazines
• Scissors
• Glue stick
• Paper/art journal/Sketchbook

The challenge this week is to create a new composition out of 2-3 unrelated pictures cut from a magazine. 

Here is my finished composition

Here are some other examples I found on Pinterest

Image 1, Image 2, Image 3

I love fiber arts, and weaving is one of my favorites! Weaving is great for beginner artists as well as advanced artists. Pinterest is full of so many great weaving projects, tutorials, and ideas. Here is a collection of some fun and unique weaving ideas that I found on Pinterest recently that inspire me!

Embroidery Hoop Weaving Via Pinterest

Round Cardboard Looms Via Pinterest

Rock Weaving Via Pinterest

Stick Weaving Via Pinteres

Large Woven Wall Hanging Via Pinterest

Simple Cardboard loom weaving in progress from our studio!

A twist on the cardboard loom. Woven trees from our after school art class here in the studio!

There are so many ideas on pinterest, I really could have posted 50 plus photos! Think Tennis racket weaving, matchbox weaving, hulahoop weaving, it goes on and on. Take a look then if you are local come on in to the studio and try it out for yourself!

Summer is coming to a close. School is back in session and soon the weather will start to turn cooler. It will be time to bring those plants indoors. Why not spruce them up a bit with some macrame plant hangers?

Images Via, Via, Via

Here is a simple tutorial to get you started from CraftandCreativity.com

Pinterest is a wealth of ideas so I have decided to feature some Pinterest inspired art projects each week. These are projects that can be done at home or in our studio during Open Studio! Come on in and try them out! Some of them will be geared towards kids and others towards adult artists/crafters!

This week I am inspired by recycled Toilet paper tubes! These little things are just so useful. Check out all of these ideas found on Pinterest. There is something for everyone...
We have a bunch of these little guys in the studio so come on in for an open studio session this week and give one of these awesome TP crafts a try!

 If you are like most of us then you have a lot of old magazines and catalogs laying around your house. Well, blow off the dust and create some one of a kind art! Here is how:
1. Gather supplies: you will need old magazines (the thinner pages work best), A paper cutter, Craft glue, Modpodge, and a sponge brush.
2. Choose pages with colors you like, the pictures don't matter.
3. Use paper cutter to cut into 2 inch wide strips. If you don't have a paper cutter measure out and mark cutting lines with a pencil and use scissors to cut along the line. 2 inch strips will give you 1/2" finished product. Strip may be thinner but they need to all be the same width.

4. Fold one side of the strip to the center point.
5. Do the same with the other side.
6. Fold in half along the center line with the edges tucked inside the fold.
5. Begin rolling the paper, keep your roll as tight as possible.
6. When you get to the end of the strip place a dot of glue on the end and glue it closed.
7. Attache your next strip with another dot of glue making sure edge of new strip meets the previous end but do not overlap the ends.
8. Continue in this manner until you have reached the desired coil size for your project.
9. Use the craft glue to glue the coils together into the desired shape. Separate folded strips may used to outline the coiled shape if you desire. Simply use the craft glue to attach the strips where the strips touch the coils.
10. Once your project is finished use your Modpodge to seal it with a protective glaze.

Sticker Resist Paintings

Via

I have not done a pinspiration in a while and it is about time. This time however I am going to be doing something a little bit different. All of my Pinspirations thus far have been things you could come into the studio and do on your own during our open studio, however I have not had too many takers...so this time I am going to turn it into a class! If you like this Pinspiration consider signing up for our class tutorial. The class will be held in the studio:

Friday March 11th a
6:30-8:30 pm
$35

You will be making an 18x24 inch painting using this fun technique. All supplies are included!
Class is limited to 8 participants and tickets must be bought in advance through the link below.

Purchase Tickets

For this Pinspiration I was inspired by a few different Pins. The hearts above use the sticker resist method, but I have really been liking the circle art popping up all over my Pinterest boards lately so I thought I would go that route with this project.

Via; Via

Here is my take on the project:

This project was quick and easy, but a ton of fun. I took a very simple approach but i am already thinking of alternate ideas that might make this even cooler! The sky is the limit!
Here is my approach:

Step 1















The First thing I did was paint my background and I chose to do a gradient for that, but a solid color would look nice as well.

Step 2











I used a heat gun to dry the gradient layer and then cut circles out of sticky back vinyl  (similar to contact paper). I used my die cutter to cut the circles in various sizes.

Step 3















I then arranged my cutouts on the background making sure to really stick all the edges down and get a good seal. I chose to paint the entire background black, but I think next time I might try a lighter color so that I can add stems for a more organic flower like shape similar to the gray one above. There are really a lot of different arrangements and designs that could be done with this.
I hope you are getting some good ideas for the class, I know I am!
During the class you will be given an 18x24 inch canvas, access to the die cutter and sticky back vinyl to make your circles. You will be free to use what ever color acrylic paints you choose and to arrange your image as you would like. We will be learning the process, but the painting will be original and all yours!