Yes, it is the very first blog post of 2011! Please forgive me for my lack of posting here…and bear with me, as I have a lot of filling in to do!

No, I haven’t fallen off the face of the earth, but it’s been a busy, yet wonderful year so far. I started off the year taking an online class with a fabulous teacher, which explored painting and writing, and combining them both…which really inspired my art process!

Then, as the class ended, my husband and I boarded a plane for Ireland, to celebrate our 25th year of marriage…yes! 25!!! It was blissful and beautiful, and EVERYONE should see this amazing country at least once in their lifetime!

We came back home, and had our normal colds, and jetlag…and after the fog had cleared, we had over 4000 photographs to sift through. Then, we settled back into our routines…but with Ireland still on our minds. So, it wasn’t any wonder that I started to sketch and paint the places we had seen.

Since then, I’ve been working in collage, watercolor, mail art, oil and acrylics, and art journaling…as well as writing. There’s nothing quite like seeing a beautiful country to inspire me to try new things, especially when it comes to my art.

Something has been brewing for a while…it just took me some time to make it happen…or to let it happen. An opportunity for me to teach locally, just a few afternoons this summer, has come my way, and I couldn’t let it pass me by. Am I ready for teaching? Well, that thought crossed my mind a lot in the last few months…but YES, I can finally say I am ready to try this. My reason? Because I love creating art so much…I want others to experience the joy of making something with their own hands too!

These are the classes I will be teaching…

A Traveler’s Journal

An extremely fun class, where we will be creating a book to store memories of traveling, ticket stubs, maps, photos, postcards, original art…anything and everything! I’ve made two of these for my last two adventures, and I LOVE looking through the memories they hold.  Once you know how to make these simple books…you will be hooked! These would make wonderful gifts for friends and family too!

Artist Trading Cards

This class will be for adults and youths (12 years and up) to create little pieces of art, on playing cards. These make great little gifts, or can be traded with other artists. There is literally, a whole world of people out there who create and trade and collect Artist Trading Cards…really! It’s a fun way to enter the world of collage and mixed media!  That’s how I got my start…five years ago. You never know what creating ATCs will lead to.

It’s also a great way to try painting like the masters…it’s easy to do a Monet inspired piece on a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inch canvas! It’s art without fear! And a whole lot of fun! 

The Storyteller’s Collage

For those of you that have seen my art, it’s no surprise to you, that I have a love of vintage images, and love to create art surrounding the imagined life of the faces in the photographs. For me, collage is a wonderful way to tell a story, of the past, present or future. In this class, we will be creating beautiful collages, that are about 4 x 5 inches in size. We will start with an image we want to use, gorgeous background papers of our choosing, vintage ephemera, buttons, lace, ribbon, and “found” text from a book, to create a story.

I hope those of you in my area will feel free to join me for these very fun (and affordable!) classes. I would love to take this new adventure with you at my side!

 Do you have any questions regarding these classes or any of the art you see here? I’d love to hear from you! Please feel free to email me at ArtcyLucy@aol.com

So, what’s new in your 2011???