coloring books and crayons.....art journaling pens and markers......

I love to draw with black ink pens.  And i love to color.  I love markers.  Always have.  That's right, a grown woman who finds therapy in coloring!  Don't laugh, you know that is how we all started our art careers.  Especially in the 60's growing up when COLORING BOOKS and CRAYONS were what a DS, Wii or Xbox is to kids today.  What a debate we had in college when i was studying art education...to color or not to color?, that was the question.  Heaven forbid we gave a kid a coloring book.  But think about the calmness and serenity achieved methodically swirling colored wax INSIDE (never over!!) black lines on the off white scratchy paper.....

 

 

These days, i am finding it soothing devouring my blank books and journals, filling them with doodling, words, flowers, borders, inspirational quotes and blather.  Currently, i'm designing a program of classes and workshops that celebrate the "Creativity of Coloring"....a sophisticated, artful approach, exploring simple drawing/doodling techniques, lettering, embellishments, color, Copic markers, Golden paints, papers, tools, and inspirations.

Here are some samples for the workshops.  The embellishments are Tim Holtz "Tattered Florals" Sizzix dies, a ton of Ranger Glossy Accents and a few pounds of Stickles.  (***I showed this book to Tim this past weekend when i took his class.  I think he was a little surprised to see his designs interpreted this way!  As my fellow Ranger U alum,  Jennifer McGuire says, the "Skittles Palette")  I just love COLOR!

  
 
     

   

Live life out loud in color!!
 
 
 
 
 

Comments

[Chris]

Oh the joy of coloring! I even won coloring contests growing up...outlined and shaded - perfectly controlled and yes, always in never on or over the lines. I too had an art ed class where we had to design "non-coloring" book pages like - Pretend you won a kite flying contest, what did your kite look like? So sad that today most kids don't even know the 'calmness' of any type of coloring. Coloring to them is scribbling with a marker until it's so wet that it makes a hole in the page. What the world needs now is coloring! (even if it is skittle colors!)
Love ya!

[Ajf 6]

Pen can describe a vibrant spring, Pen can as the ancient, A pen to write down my soul of small language!