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Creative Journaling Class was so much FUN!

Well my “Creative Journaling Spring 2011” class has ended after 4 weeks; it passed very quickly! Some of my students had never drawn anything before and others were used to doing some art or crafts. What I found the most interesting was how certain areas of what I taught really suited different students or ‘caught’ their imaginations. (Please CLICK on pictures to see them enlarged)

Great job Helen!

I’m happy to say Helen, who has never drawn before but is an EXCELLENT quilter, tried drawing and did quite well. I went over comparative measurements and gesture sketching with her and I think she’s getting the hang of it! She said she loved using the watercolor pencils. I can see her love of color in her quilts and could see she loved using color with the watercolor pencils.

Helen used her love of fabric and made a cover for her journal.

This of course, is Helen’s journal…she couldn’t help but get creative with fabric and cover her sketchbook journal that we made. She glued it on with rubber cement.

Linda and Paula working on poems and painting.

These ladies are very involved with their pages. Linda created some beautiful twig letters when we did creative lettering. I showed how to start with a simple outline then embellish your lines. Paula was inspired to write a poem during class after I introduced using poetry in your journal and gave a little talk about how I write a poem. Paula already liked writing poems so it really caught her interest and here is the wonderful poem she penned about our class!

“Challenges”

Painting what I see,
Seeing sky through the tree,
Climbing the incline,
Writing poetry with rhyme.

Enjoying Nature:
Through art and poetry,
With experimentation and camaraderie,
Is easy, fun, natural and free!

by Paula Minklai 2011

Paula followed just what I was encouraging by doing a little painting in her journal and incorporated the poem on the page. Her little painting was of an incline with trees on it and she likened learning to going up the incline, enjoying what we experience as we go. Great job Paula!

I showed the class how to use the twig look for letters, Linda did a great job!

I love the blue color of the twigs Linda used.

Please enjoy the rest of the photos taken over the last few weeks.

Linda working on watercolor pencil landscape in a circle.

Helen used the watercolor pencils so nicely here for the first time ever!

Creative Journaling class 2 - making coffee stained paper

Creative Journaling class 2 - making coffee stained paper

Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing

Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing

I hope someday you’ll take a class with me! Sign up your email in the subscribe box to see when I’ll be teaching near you or just follow my posts about my journaling adventures!

Creative Journaling Class – April 2011

Drawing a window and creative borders on my journal page in Alnwick, England

Meeting on Saturday’s – April 2 through 30, no classes on April 23, 10 am – 12 noon

Our adventure continues! This class includes students who took the first Creative Journaling class and we welcome all new comers!

Creative Journaling class 1- Making our journals

Creative Journaling class 1- Making our journals

Get Creative with Journaling! A class for all ages. We’ll combine sketching, painting and writing with experienced guidance from our instructor to create a journal of experiences and special days. Learn drawing skills, how to add decorative borders, creative designs and lettering to your journal. Learn creative writing tips; dabble in poetry writing and techniques for creating a very personal record. You’ll also be introduced to the use of watercolor pencils, watercolors, permanent ink pens, and water brushes to create images and illustrations to share. We’ll even make our own journal! Creative Journaling or Art Journaling is becoming increasingly popular; it complements internet blogs or conventional diaries and provides a highly visual and descriptive book to treasure for years to come.

Creative Journaling - playing with creative text.

Creative Journaling - playing with creative text.

$75 for 4 classes, a $3 materials fee payable to the instructor the first day covers the water brush you keep.

•Following this class (after a lunch break) is “Nature Sketching”, a two-hour class that ties in beautifully with Creative Journaling. Sign up for both and save $5 on both classes!
•A complete materials list will be emailed to you after registering. Contact Mary with any questions.
•Read more on my blog about my sketching adventures in England and New York, just click links in the right hand column. You can sign your email to receive automatic updates when there are new posts.

Creative  Journaling class 3 - drawing landscape behind a shape

Creative Journaling class 3 - drawing landscape behind a shape

To register for class go to http://www.burchfieldnac.org/Spring_Classes.html to download form.

Phone: 716-677-4843  or  www.burchfieldnac.org

Learn how to make colorful Creative Borders

Learn how to make colorful Creative Borders

Please sign your email in the “Subscribe” box on the right to be notified when I put up new posts.

“Spring 2009 Nature Sketching and Painting Classes”

photo courtesy of John Rusak-Clarence Bee News, teaching at the Burchfield Nature and Art Center Spring 2008, 5th grade class

Indoor and Field Classes

Join Naturalist Artist guide Mary McAndrew in sketching, painting and experiencing nature through art.
Mary McAndrew (716) 741-4544 mary@marymcandrew.com
Free talk and intro lesson! April 4, 2009 1pm
For full article go to this entry: http://marymcandrew.blogspot.com/2009/04/free-talk-and-demonstration-on-nature.html

Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge, Alabama, NY

Mary McAndrew, naturalist artist guide, will be giving a FREE introductory talk and lesson on “Nature Sketching in the Field” at the Iroquis National Wildlife Refuge. Please bring a sketch pad and pencils; the time of the program is 1pm at the refuge visitors center 1101 Casey Road. To read more about the Iroquois Wildlife Refuge visit their website: http://www.fws.gov/northeast/iroquois/ mary@marymcandrew.com

My students trying watercolors for the first time, it was so much fun!


Nature Sketching and Painting Classes

Indoor or Field Classes

Join Naturalist Artist guide Mary McAndrew in sketching, painting and experiencing nature through art.

Mary McAndrew (716) 741-4544 mary@marymcandrew.com

Come explore nature with me as we work indoors or out from real nature subjects and photos. Whether it’s a weekly class or one day workshop we’ll learn drawing from life techniques that will improve your artistic skills in the field and how to draw from photos in the studio. We’ll learn how to identify subjects in nature and how to draw them. We’ll learn foundation drawing skills and how to use pencil, color pencil, watercolor pencil and watercolors. I’ll also introduce NEW materials on the market (water soluble graphite and the waterbrush) and how to use them. This is a fun class that will teach you how to capture nature on paper and help bring your skills to a new level.

I can offer my class to your group, whether it’s school children or retirement homes, everyone loves my classes and has a good time learning! Please call me if you’d like to talk about the possibilities of what we can arrange.

What we’ll do in class:

  • Create your own Nature Journal (mostly for field classes but we can do this for indoor class also).
  • Create your own Art Kit.
  • Work with pencil, color pencil, watercolor, watercolor pencil, ink, watersoluble graphite.
  • Learn how to do studies of plants, flowers, birds, leaves, trees, clouds, bugs…you name it!
  • Identify local wildflowers, plants, birds, trees and more from our sketches using field guides.
  • Introduction to landscape drawing and painting
  • Learn basic drawing skills– value, shape, texture, gesture, shadow and light
  • Learn how to see “Simple Shapes” + use “Comparative Measurements”.

my email: mary@marymcandrew.com

Adults and Children Welcome in ALL my classes!!

email me to inquire, I’d love to talk to you about our next adventure!

Mary