Answering questions about my A Life Made By Hand class

This is the second to the last page of my January/February 2010 journal. I'll show you the last page tomorrow. (I did add a slide show already to the right side of this blog).

I answered some questions regarding my A Life Made By Hand class on the Blissfully Art Journaling Yahoo Group. I thought it might be worthwhile to post what I wrote here. I also added some bits, as well.

I set up my A Life Made By Hand class in the fashion that I chose for a number of reasons-

1. Collage is difficult for some people (my students have expressed to me over the years that collage is difficult-it's all how you look at it. The more you do it, the easier it will get). I set up the prompts so that anyone can do them-beginner to advanced. Even if collage isn't difficult for you, it's a learning experience. I have been working in this art form for over a decade now and I still learn something new and a new way of looking at things. (Isn't that what life is all about?) Working from the prompts even pushes ME to look at things in a new direction and new light. Isn't that what making art is all about? Isn't that what keeping an art journal is about-to not only record, document and examine but to push and pull and to think and see in new ways.

2. The collage prompts are based to get you thinking in terms of composition and design. There are 25 collage prompts on the site. They are in the form of little templates or cards that you can cut out and take anywhere. If you turn the cards upside down, you have 25 new templates to work from.

2A. Every time you do the prompts-even if you repeat the same prompts, you're going to get a different look. Rinse and repeat and try it again as I say. Trust me on this. It's very interesting to use the same template, etc.. and to see how differently things can come out...

3. There are 181 journaling prompts. That is a journal prompt a day from January 1st through June 30th (not to be confused with my A Prompt A Day class that I taught last year every month)!

4. The class will remain up beyond June 30th so members will have full access to the class and what is on the site, including over 1300 photos at the moment. There are also various forums-discussions, questions, a basic 411 (where I share lots of my favorite information) and more.

5. I am a big believer in working in your art journal every single day. Most people say that they are "too busy" yet they have time to go on the computer, watch tv, etc... That 15 minutes could be spent in doing a page. It is a work at your own pace class, though. I encourage my students to work at their own pace and to be comfortable with it regardless as to how long (or short) it takes them to make a page. I want them to be making art ;)

6. By keeping the class price affordable and spreading it out over a long period of time, people can actually SEE a variety (a plethora!) of other people's journal pages and you actually can see the progress, change and style come through in the pages.

7. For the record, everyone may be doing the same prompts, but like in my classes-I may give you all the same idea, but NONE of the pages come out the same. I love it. I am floored by the idea of how much it happens.

8. You're actually learning by not only doing the work hands on, but from seeing what others do with the class techniques and ideas.

9. There are 8 videos up now that cover all of the basics in the class. I may occasionally add more as we go. Each month I add a collage sheet for you to download, save and print out for your own personal use.

10. There are also two different bookbinding tutorials on the site that are an added "Bonus".

11. Yes, I will more than likely teach a part 2 from July 1st through December 31st with new ideas, new prompts, new ways to make a journal, etc... at the same low price, but with NEW things. You do not have to take part 1 to take part 2, etc... but you should know it will be a new class with the material I will be presenting.

12. Even though some of you (including myself) have been working in journal form for years, it's still a matter of seeing things differently and new. Sometimes we get in a rut. Sometimes we don't know what to write about. Sometimes we don't think of other things that we COULD write about. Sometimes we get stuck just painting pages. Sometimes we get stuck doing the same thing collage wise. I set up and designed the prompts so that they get you unstuck. So you can do them with a loosey goosey care free attitude of taking a bit of this and a bit of that and making them work or you can do the prompts completely as is. I encourage and nurture my students to work in a way that is best for them, BUT to be willing to try new things once in a while and to look at things with a new eye.

13. YES, I am still taking sign ups. This class does not close. As I said above, it will remain up so you can join at any time and still have full access to everything. To read more info or to sign up, please go here. Thanks.

Thanks for letting me post. I hope that this has cleared up any questions some of you may have.
If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

Best and thanks,
Kelly