Artful Assemblage with Tim Holtz: Class Review

On Friday, I had the great good fortune to take a class with Tim Holtz called artful assemblage. The class focused on learning how to use a variety of Tim Holtz products to make a three dimensional collage. We played a lot with distress crayons and distress collage mediums and used ideology ephemera, letter press and found relatives. I absolutely adore the collage I created. It features my one little word for 2016 and focuses on the idea of growing from a willful child to a brave woman. I meant to feature my current age (55) but that didn't really pan out. I did however include the year of my birth (1961) and the year I graduated from high school (1978). 

I love Tim Holtz and use his products a lot (you can see many of my Tim Holtz creations, as well as class and book reviews by clicking and scrolling through this link). I first met Tim almost 15 years ago, when he was first starting out, at a Club Scrap retreat. He spent the entire weekend with the group and showed himself to be a funny, talented, genuine, generous person. And he's still the same, as well as a very gifted teacher. Tim is a self-taught, hands-on artist who began his career as a demonstrator at some chain craft store, so he's not long on design principles. He's also a brilliant business person and inventor who works with a variety of different manufacturers to try to get the highest quality product at a reasonable price. So he makes stamps with stampers anonymous, cutting tools with tonic, ink products with ranger, etc., rather than doing everything with one company.
The class reflected all this. The class was short on collage design theory but long on fun and other learning. This worked for me because I've taken (and taught) collage classes. I learned all about distress crayons (which I had sampled before but not really understood until this class). I also learned an amazing new tip - place your paint and glue/medium brushes in a baby wipe while you're using them to keep them fresh without becoming water logged. For our $85, we got three hours of amazing, personalized instruction, all the supplies for the project, a bonus apron and a bonus stand for our canvases! A huge value in my opinion.

One of the joys of Tim's classes is that he brings everything! I walked in with absolutely no supplies and was able to complete a project that I loved. Another joy is running into friends. Cindy McCool (pictured above) lives near me and we used to get together at least once a month to make art together. We'd lost track of each other recently, so it was quite a treat to walk into the classroom and spy her there! Although we were not sitting anywhere near each other and there was a huge variety of supplies to choose from, there ended up being a lot of similarities between our two projects. I guess that's what comes from being art sisters who have spent so much time together.
All-in-all, a terrific class and a terrific day!

What's Been Going On in My Life

That's a silhouette of my daughter pointing off to the horizon. 
Pointing in a direction away from me. Which is where she wants to be. 
As a senior in high school, she has been straining at the reins. Hard. 
So, we decided to let her go. 
She has moved to Southern California to live with my sister and finish high school down there. She comes back frequently, and I have gone to visit. But our relationship right now is definitely fraught. It's hard to let go. It's hard to breathe.
But I am blessed with a wonderful family that is looking after her. I am a faith filled person who knows believes that everything will work out.
But still.
It is a difficult time
It is one of the main reasons that I chose Brave as my word for 2016.
I have a lot to brave this year.
I need to be a warrior (a brave).
I need to be brave.

Snap! Brave four ways

My one little word for 2016 is "Brave," and I've been playing around in my art journal with its various meanings. So, this week for Helena's Snap meme, I'm sharing photos of four of my pages. They're all slightly different styles, but I like them all. Do you have a favorite?

A Nostalgic Art Journal Page

Sian of From High in the Sky posted an interesting quote on her instagram feed:
"What one wants to say is formed in one's childhood and we spend the rest of our lives trying to say it."
Barbara Hepwoth
I know that I use a lot of nostalgic elements in my art journaling because who I am and the art I create is definitely shaped by my childhood. 
For this page, I started with the background and then sorted through some tags I had sitting around. The bright yellow monocled cat jumped out at me. I started layering on other elements that seemed to fit the mood I was in. A dozen additions later, I decided it was ready for journaling. I wrote around the circles first, repeating "my heart is filled with nostalgia" and "childhood memories fill my heart." I then filled the internal white space with more journaling about how my childhood memories fill my heart and make me brave.
I did a lot of art journaling this last week during my visit to southern California and this was probably my favorite page.

I'm not sure if what I want to say was completely formed in my childhood, but I know that my childhood definitely influences who I am and what I have to say.

What do you think of Sian's quote?

One Little Word 2016: Brave

Every year, for the last nine years, inspired by Ali Edwards, I have been selecting "one little word" upon which to focus during the year. My previous words include: open (2007); flow (2008); accomplish (2009); horizon (2010); health (2011); home (2012); paramount (2013); illuminate (2014) and selfhood (2015).
For 2016, I have chosen the word Brave. I like the word because of the way it shifts meanings depending upon whether it is being used an adjective, a verb or a noun. They're interrelated but carry different meanings. When used as an adjective (its most common use), it means being fearless, daring and intrepid. But change it to a verb, "to brave," and it means to confront, endure,withstand and defy. Finally, after playing around, I realized that it can also be a noun. A Brave is a warrior, a hero (think Native American) and even a yoga pose.
And there is so much about the word which speaks to me. About where I am in my life right now. And how I want to behave this year. And where I want to be at the end of 2016.
What about you? Have you chosen a word?
In the next few days and weeks, look for some reflections on my 2015 word and some brave posts about why my 2015 word speaks to me.