Upcoming Classes
Backgrounds and Textures
Backgrounds and Textures for Paper and Cloth is based on a series of mixed-media explorations I started in 2020. My interest in botanical printing inspired me to seek additional ways to add interest and meaning to the pieces that began as leaf and flower prints, but it didn’t take long for me to tumble down the rabbit hole of making textures and backgrounds for their own sake! Now I can hardly wait to share those explorations with you.
Backgrounds and Textures Projects: Complex Compositions
Filling up the creative toolbox is fun and the best of all possible play times. In the first Backgrounds and Textures course we did just that! I have three drawers piled with samples and experiments from the course.
But if you’re like me, once the lessons wind down, the question becomes Now What?
Backgrounds and Textures II: Complex Compositions is the answer to the “Now What?” question.
Dye Mastery: From White to Wow
This class is a thorough explanation of how fiber reactive dyes work, followed by dyeing sessions that teach you how to dye a color wheel using the pure MX dyes.
Pure dyes are not mixed colors, and they are an effective way to control the color that is produced on the cloth. This method alone revolutionizes how textile artists work with dyes.
The second part of the course explores the over-dyeing process, the choice of color and pattern, and the option of dyeing fabric two or more times. The lessons include discussions of folding and tying methods as a means of contributing additional pattern.
Enrollment open! Register here.
Making Tools for Layered Compositions
$15
Online lecture hosted on Zoom
2:00-3:30pm CDT
Lecture followed by live Q&A
Will be recorded and shared after the event.
Stamps, stencils, and silk-screens are valuable tools used to layer images on cloth and paper substrates to add richness and complexity.
Join me to talk about tools and how to create them. I will also focus on how to design tools so that they work together to tell a visual story effectively, in order to develop a vocabulary which is distinctly your own.
Backgrounds and Textures
Backgrounds and Textures for Paper and Cloth is based on a series of explorations I started in 2020. My interest in botanical printing inspired me to seek additional ways to add interest and meaning to the pieces that began as leaf and flower prints, but it didn’t take long for me to tumble down the rabbit hole of making textures and backgrounds for their own sake! Now I can hardly wait to share those explorations with you.
Whether you work with cloth exclusively, or are a mixed media artist, these techniques will excite and delight you. A few are twists on old favorites – things I’d never thought to try! Others are experiments and new discoveries.
Of course I’ll also talk about best practices to ensure that what you do is good for the environment, good for your tools, and good for you. The three live Q&A sessions will give us time to chat in person, work out bugs, and celebrate successes.
Enrollment now open. Register here.
Confident Color
One surefire way to build an understanding of color is to work with paints – mixing colors and exploring relationships in real time.
This class is designed to teach you how to evaluate colors you see and use, whether you work with paper or fabric. Until you have actually mixed colors together, added white, gray or black, and observed the outcome, color terminology remains a set of terms that can be intimidating and confusing!
The good news is that anyone can learn to look at a color and mix a perfect match. It’s an invaluable skill for every artist, no matter what medium you prefer. Mixing color using French knots is not very different from mixing color with paints from a tube. It’s all about understanding hue, value and the brightness or dullness of a color, which we refer to as intensity – and using the information guide the colors you combine.
Backgrounds and Textures Online Workshop
I have always been first and foremost a surface designer, and experimentation has been at the heart of all the best discoveries I've ever made. The delight that comes with discovering how to get a bubble to print, for example, reminds me that my inner child is always willing and ready to play! I love it when what I teach has that effect on class members – setting the stage for discovery and delight.
The 16+ lessons include, but are not limited to:
Carving eraser stamps
Stamps and texture plates made with glue, spackle, masking tape, and caulk
Inventive textures from stuff you’re throwing away!
India ink dyeing and resisting
Reignite your love affair with the gel plate – four techniques you probably haven’t tried yet
Understanding acrylic paints and why textile paint is different
Caring for tools to make them last
Surprising texture from veggie bags, tomato netting and window screen
The magic of hand-made papers and gold leaf
Reinventing flour paste resist
Heat Press Success Online Workshop
Heat Press Success: Fast and Beautiful Botanical Printing
Four-week course with pre-recorded lessons released weekly.
Private Facebook group and two one hour live Q&A sessions.
Work at your own pace - all content is yours to keep forever.
Learn more and sign up here!
CST 2022 Begins
Day one of our ten-month program! March materials to be emailed to members at 9am CST.
Sourcing Symbolic Content
We’ll begin this two hour workshop on sourcing symbolic content with an in-depth look at the art of Joseph Cornell, a self-taught, assemblage artist who was a recluse and introvert.
Saturday February 26th, 2-4 PM CST
He never learned to drive, never left the house where he grew up, and had a long, passionate, but platonic friendship with the young Japanese artist, Yayoi Kusama. Just three surprising facts about an artist whose work has impacted generations of artists since his death in 1972.
Cornell’s work is packed with elements and objects that meant something to him. His folders of images and vast visual language of elements is astonishing and delightful. We can learn a great deal by observing how he worked.
Music and poetry are also rich sources of symbolic content, driven by how we respond to what we hear and read. Singer/songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter was so affected by Cornell’s work, she wrote a song about him. Listening to the song provides additional information when it comes to learning to think and see symbolically.
Come prepared to play and bring a simple toolbox with you. Check out the supply list and join me on February 26.
FREE for members of 2022 Creative Strength Training Online
CST 2022 members use code SOURCE to remove the fee.
$15.00 for non-members.
NOTE: If you decide to join CST 2022 after this workshop, you can apply the fee to the cost of CST, and continue to learn even more about your personal visual language!
The workshop will be recorded and a link will be available for anyone who can’t attend live.
Confidence: Having Faith in Yourself
The fourth and final Cornerstone of Creativity is confidence.
Confidence in your creative abilities is strengthened when you try something new and feel good about the outcome. Confidence is strengthened over time with consistent practice, but many of us lack confidence when we compare ourselves to others. It’s hard to dismantle the conditioned belief that we aren’t as creative as other people we know, and that keeps us from trying the very things that might help us feel more confident. In this closing session on the Cornerstones of Creativity, we’ll talk about how to cultivate the kind of faith in ourselves that can ripple out and be life-changing.
Read more about the Cornerstones of Creativity here.
RSVP to the series below. If you RSVP below, you do not need to RSVP to the other Cornerstones events in February — we will send you reminders for each one!
Exploring Abstraction: The Morphed Object
Join me for two hours of research disguised as play time!
Recorded live Saturday February 19th
In this two-hour live workshop we will explore how an object can morph from being a recognizable two dimensional silhouette into an abstracted form. This is an excellent way to study the interaction of positive and negative space, and can be translated into visual information you can use for any artwork or medium, including piecing, appliqué, stitching and mixed media.
If you are curious and want to answer the question, “how can I learn to make abstract art?” this two hour workshop will serve you well. Come and be prepared to play and learn!
Community: Building Victorious Relationships
The third Cornerstone of Creativity is community.
When we engage with other people deliberately in a setting where everyone is aligned with the same purpose – deepening creatively – we are building Conscious Community. The problem is that too often we feel isolated from others or don’t feel supported. We may even begin to feel a little bit like a victim because we don’t fit in or don’t know where to look for a positive tribe. In this session I’ll talk about where to find a community that has your back, just as you have theirs. It’s a win-win victory for everyone!
Read more about the Cornerstones of Creativity here.
Clarity: Befriending Your Saboteur
The second Cornerstone of Creativity is clarity.
Clarity is the ability to be clear – about your preferences, use of time, purpose and goals. A side benefit of cultivating curiosity is that you begin to know what you don’t like in addition to knowing what you DO like! Knowing yourself better reinforces your desire to employ a creative approach to your world. And is the best possible way to avoid sabotaging yourself, or the people who sabotage you. In this session I’ll talk about how to cultivate clarity, and use it to make changes in your life.
Read more about the Cornerstones of Creativity here.
RSVP to the series below. If you RSVP below, you do not need to RSVP to the other Cornerstones events in February — we will send you reminders for each one!
Curiosity: Engaging Your Child Self
The first Cornerstone of Creativity is curiosity.
Creativity is around us just like air and gravity, but some people never pay attention to the fact that it’s around them. They haven’t yet tapped their creative intelligence, in the same way that not everyone has tapped emotional intelligence. And yet these inherent ways of knowing exist in us, waiting to be acknowledged. How do you recognize your own creative spark and then nurture it? One way to begin is by inviting the Child in you to come for a play date! Playing is not a waste of time, no matter what anyone tells you. It’s research of the highest order and a surefire route to cultivating curiosity.
Read more about the Cornerstones of Creativity here.
Archetypes: A Personal Journey of Understanding
In this entertaining presentation, Jane will share her deck of twelve archetype cards, in addition to sharing more of her own artwork inspired by this theme over the past 15 years.
She will talk about the symbolic elements on her cards and tell stories that express how archetypes have engaged her creative life. Whether you are new to archetypes or have studied them yourself, this should be an informative hour.
If you joined me two weeks for the discussion on archetypes as they intersect with creativity, thanks for being there. Maybe you’ve had a question in your mind since then, or didn’t have a chance to ask a question then. This time around I will go into greater detail than I did previously, by using my own experience as the example. So this won’t be a repeat of what I talked about before, but rather a deeper extension of it. There will still be time for questions, so mark your calendar!
CST Retreat: In Reverie
Inaugural CST Virtual retreat! Open to CST 2021 and 2022 members. Read the schedule and supply list here.
Interested in joining CST? Learn more. Register before the 15th to join us for the retreat!
Joyful Abandon: An Introduction to Working Abstractly
Join the Zoom session here.
Abstraction is one of those terms that's hard to quantify. Does it fit with how you work? What does it even mean?
This presentation and live Q&A will give you a few clues, and, with a little luck, whet your appetite to find out more! It’s one of our focusses for CST 2022.
Find out if it’s right for you and how it fits into your creative agenda.
Beyond the Press: Distinctive Embellishment — Online Workshop
This brand new online workshop is primarily a guide to adding beautiful finishing touches to botanical prints, but it’s also perfect for anyone who loves collage and surface design.
Included in the course are two live Q & A sessions, conveniently recorded for later viewing and re-viewing, and access to the private facebook group, where we share work and lively camaraderie! Learn more.
Your Creative Crew: How Understanding Archetypes Can Strengthen Your Art Practice
Free and online! Join here at the time of event.
Archetypes can be a mysterious and threatening idea, but they are actually a friendly way of describing what you experience when you encounter your inherent creative self. Let’s talk about this! The first step when you feel “less than” in regard to what you make, is to understand where the fear comes from.
Once we get a handle on it together, we can begin to dismantle it TOGETHER. If you are curious, this hour might be life-changing. Come and listen, and bring your questions. I am here for you, and I know how good your creative life can be if you will only trust this chance to alter it!
*You don't need to install any extra software to join a Zoom meeting. You can do it all through a web browser.
Click on the shared link in this event.
A new tab will open on your preferred web browser. If you don't have the Zoom desktop app installed, the page will urge you to download the app.
Ignore that and skip down to the small print: "If you cannot download or run the application, join from your browser."
Click the highlighted text in "join from your browser".
Sign in with your name to join the meeting.
Smorgasbord of Delights: My Visual Guide to CST Online and a Live Q&A
Free and online! Join below at 12PM CST.
On Wednesday, January 12 I am going to talk about the Creative Strength Training online community and share pictures of what it entails. Designed to give you a “visual” for the activities we offer every month, this will be a light-hearted and entertaining presentation and I’ll also answer questions.
Joining CST this year will put a bounce in your creative step, so if you’ve been curious, this is your opportunity to find out everything you need to know to get started!
*You don't need to install any extra software to join a Zoom meeting. You can do it all through a web browser.
Click on the shared link in this event.
A new tab will open on your preferred web browser. If you don't have the Zoom desktop app installed, the page will urge you to download the app.
Ignore that and skip down to the small print: "If you cannot download or run the application, join from your browser."
Click the highlighted text in "join from your browser".
Sign in with your name to join the meeting.
Burning Bowl Ceremony
Burning Bowl is an opportunity to release any disappointments or regrets from 2021. Bring a small piece of paper, a pencil or pen, some matches, and a fireproof container, in order to participate! We'll talk briefly, write a regret on the paper, and then light it on fire and send it out into the Universe. No regrets! We will send a link for this on the morning of the event.
Open to CST members.
New Botanical Exhibition
Join me for a talk about my new botanical art work. I’ve used flowers and leaves from native Texas plants, along with elements from Nature! Birds, butterflies and handmade papers enhance these new works. The live reception is an opportunity to learn more about my process and ask questions. I look forward to seeing you then!
Join the reception here.
Beyond the Press: Distinctive Embellishment
This brand new online workshop is primarily a guide to adding beautiful finishing touches to botanical prints, but it’s also perfect for anyone who loves collage and surface design.
Included in the course are two live Q & A sessions, conveniently recorded for later viewing and re-viewing, and access to the private facebook group, where we share work and lively camaraderie!
I hope you will join me and expand your surface design vocabulary. This is engaging material that can take your art making to the next level. You won’t want to miss it.
Heat Press Success
This comprehensive online course covers everything you need to know in order to produce gorgeous prints from leaves, seed pods, and flowers. Print papers and fabrics, scarves and even yardage.
Learn more and register here.
Cornerstones of Creativity: Confidence
THE QUESTION: Where do I find confidence and once I find it how do I keep it going?
Confidence in your creative abilities is strengthened when you try something new and feel good about the outcome. Everything qualifies! Maybe it’s trying a new recipe or working on a DIY project, but it could be writing random poetry or learning a new embroidery stitch every day for a month. Maybe it’s beginning to meditate or learning to sing.
THE PROBLEM:
Confidence can be strengthened over time with consistent practice, but many of us lack confidence when we compare ourselves to others. It’s hard to dismantle the conditioned belief that we aren’t as creative as other people we know, and that keeps us from trying the very things that might help us feel more confident.
The Power of Paint
Textile paints are an essential addition to every mixed media artist’s toolbox.
Understanding the differences between translucent, opaque, and watercolor weight paints is invaluable, and allows you to choose exactly the right paint for the job.
Paints are capable of doing things dyes just can’t do as well, and combining dyes and paints expands your surface design and textile horizons exponentially.
In this fast-paced lecture I’ll cover a range of paint types, styles and brands. I’ll fill you in on the history of paints and why some work better than others when it comes to ease of use and preserving the softness, or hand of the fabric. I’ve got tricks to share, including using paint to produce a faux discharge that isn’t a health hazard, and even sanding paint to create special effects!
Cornerstones of Creativity: Community
THE QUESTION: How can I find other people who are seeking a more creative life so we can support each other and share the experience?
When we engage with other people deliberately in a setting where everyone is aligned with the same purpose – deepening creatively – we are building Conscious Community.
THE PROBLEM:
Feeling isolated from others or not feeling supported. Not knowing where to look for the positive tribe. Your community. Where are they?
THE ACTION PLAN:
First, it’s important to recognize these realities:
We’re all in the same boat. We can choose to believe in our ability tap creative intelligence, and we can encourage each other when we’re in community.
Curiosity is at the heart of creativity. We can encourage curiosity in others and look forward to sharing and communicating our curiousness about the world with them.
We benefit from sharing practices that are working for us, and we embrace the practices others describe. Most importantly, we discover that when we share in this exchange, our own personal practice strengthens. Our sense of clarity contributes to community clarity.
A Valentine’s Birthday Party!
Save Your Valentine’s Day for Me! Not the whole day, of course, but it’s my birthday and we’re putting together another free event since I can’t have a party. On Sunday, February 14, at 3 PM CST we’ll play some interactive games, and I’ll share a short lecture on Creativity and the Chakras (with a short visit from The Committee!).