2023: Year of the Rabbit

24 Lessons, Lifetime Access, Online Community, Live Instructor Interaction & More!

24 Lessons – $149

This will be a special yearlong class because Carla is teaching all the lessons, 24 in all, including live Zoom work sessions. The theme is: make a bunch of fun art together! You will work in all your favorite mixed-media materials and create an artist book in the process. Also: Rabbits!

Now available as a self-study class.

TEACHER: Carla Sonheim

Class Description

2023: Year of the Rabbit
24 Lessons (12 prerecorded video; 12 “live” via Zoom)

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Hi! And welcome to our 11th yearlong class!

We started with the Year of the Giraffe in 2013 and some of you have been with us since then… thank you! We are so grateful to have this special place all year long to grow and encourage each other through the ups and downs of the creative process!

Each year we change up the theme, and this year we are going back to our roots a bit with “Year of the Rabbit.” Unlike our giraffe class, however, we will be drawing and painting more than just rabbits! We will be working in all media and the projects will center mostly around animals, faces, flowers & plants and some patterns and abstraction. But we will use the rabbit as an anchor image throughout the year of drawing, painting, collaging, writing, sewing, printing and creating together.

I will be teaching all of the lessons this year and if you’ve taken a yearlong class from me before, you know roughly what to expect… lots of fun exercises and mixed-media projects designed to recover a more joyful, childlike approach to creating.

Additionally, I’m hoping you will join me in my quest to use up every art supply I own! Just kidding… but I want this year to be a year of experimenting and exploration.

Here’s what you get:

12 Main Lessons – First Friday of Each Month
Drawing, Painting, Mixed Media
All of the main lessons will begin with a “rabbit warmup” exercise… draw, paint, collage the rabbit!
Then, there will be a more in-depth project/assignment. Here are some planned lessons:

– Grid People Paintings

– Alcohol Ink Symmetrical Drawings
– Photo Montage Paintings
– Lacy Lions on Wood
– Mixed-Media Comics
– More is More: Reworking old or abandoned work

12 Zoom Sessions – Third Fri/Sat of each month (except Feb)
Making & Working in Our Books Together
Our monthly  1.5-hour Zoom sessions will begin with a warm-up exercise, then Carla will demo that day’s project or book technique, and then you will work in small groups on that day’s assignment. Some planned demos:

– Making book pages; binding
– Alternative edges and decorative elements
– Pockets & Foldouts
– Drawing in the bound books (connecting pages visually)
– Packing Tape & Rubbings
– Gelli Plate Techniques

I’m really excited for this year and really hope you will consider joining our group of like-minded creatives from all over the world!

Carla (and Steve)

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Some Project Samples

Alcohol Ink Symmetrical Drawings…

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Reworking old or abandoned work…

Lacy Lions on Wood…

Photo Montage Paintings…

And the mixed-media artist’s book that we will add to all year long:

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Nuts & Bolts

• The odd-numbered Lesson Videos will be available in your class account by 1amPT the first Friday of each month. Once the video is up, you can access it on your own time schedule.

The even-numbered Zoom Sessions will be on the third* Friday/Saturday of each month: 5pm PT Fridays and 11am PT Saturdays and will be recorded for those who can’t attend the live event. (*except February). Zoom links will be sent on the meeting days!

Community Forum. We will have two private forums (Facebook and Padlet) to share our work and be inspired by the work of others.

No art experience necessary… really! Just jump right in.

• We have kept the price the same since 2014 because we want this class to be accessible to everyone! That said, we understand hard times and don’t want you to miss out if finances are truly an issue. We have a limited number of scholarships available and you can apply  HERE.

• Thank you for being here and I hope you can join in!

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General Themes

– “Chase” Rabbits (Ideas) and let go
of expected outcomes!

– Use up supplies we have on hand.

– Experiment!

– Learn new mixed-media techniques; Revisit
old techniques in new ways.

– Gain confidence in your unique style!

 

Carla Sonheim is a painter, illustrator, and creativity workshop instructor known for her fun and innovative projects and techniques designed to help adult students recover a more spontaneous, playful approach to creating. Carla is the author of three instructional art books, including Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun; Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals: A Mixed-Media Workshop and The Art of Silliness: A Creativity Book for Everyone. In 2012 she co-authored Creative Photography Lab with her husband, Steve Sonheim, and has a new publication out called “Chasing Rabbits: Life, Creativity & the Pursuit of Happiness.” They live in Seattle, WA.

Supplies

Please note! The supplies listed below are the basic supplies you will need for this class. Sometimes we might work with specific brands, etc., and I will let you know about those ahead of time as I am able. However, in most cases supplies can be substituted with materials you might already have on hand!

General Supplies

– a Gelli® Plate! I prefer the 8″x10″ size… I will be pulling out the Gelli Plate a lot in this class, so it’s recommended that you have one (or some alternative printing setup).

– a brayer.

– Watercolor paper … I use about a 140# hot press (smooth) paper… mixed-media paper is good, as is bristol board… I have a lot of partly painted paper that I plan to recycle this year, so go through some of your art drawers and find scraps and put them in a pile!

– Sketchbook, around 9″x12″ or smaller… I like the Canson mix media and also lately have been working in a Kunst & Papier brand.

– a stack of thinner papers such as computer copy paper, rice paper, wax paper, junk mail… don’t buy anything new!

– a selection of pencils and pens; various markers, paint pens, pastels, oil pastels, crayons, wax crayons, colored pencils — what you have is fine!

– watercolors – I have various kinds and they all work great… my favorite though might be Pelikan pan set.

– acrylics – again, so many kinds! I am partial to those who dry matte, but have plenty of glossy paint to use up this year.

– alcohol inks, at least three colors

– white gesso

– brushes – large and small

– matte gel medium and gloss gel medium

– glue sticks

– scissors and exacto knife

– collage ephemera

– Tape! Decorative Washi tape, colored masking tape and packing tape

– a small hole punch

– waxed linen book thread or yarn to bind book with

– access to printer or copier

– special supply if you like silver! I’ve been using a lot of silver paint lately and use this brand, but any acrylic craft silver paint will work!

Nuts & Bolts

– This is an ongoing workshop throughout 2023. Lesson 1 will be available by 1am PT on Friday, January 6, 2023.

– Private forums will be available for you to (optionally) share your artwork and enjoy and learn from the artwork of others. You may also email Carla with questions or feedback at [email protected].

– You will have indefinite access to this class.

– Thank you for being here!