A Sewing Adventure with Tracy Stilwell

Tracy Stilwell guided me through my first real sewing adventure. I have sewn paper, bits of fabric, even a tote, but never on any clothes I could wear. While we talked at the start of class I realized I had some serious sewing issues. Did home economics class in high school scar me? Apparently. I was intimidated by patterns, deciding which stitch, would it hold up in the wash, etc. After a day with Tracy I realized it is just another medium like paint! A whole new world opened up for me. I chose to do a face because I have had limited success with painting faces. I thought that while I have a teacher with me I’ll try the hard stuff. I truly love this face. I feel so much more comfortable with faces now. Thanks Tracy!

I started with an old paint shirt that I had rubber stamped years ago with Stazon ink. I started creating the face on the back. I started with the basics and Tracy guided me on how to create more interest with layers of fabric.

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Jodi Ohl’s Paraffiti Class

There are so many amazing teachers and classes at Art is You. It is so tough to pick but I was beyond thrilled with Jodi Ohl’s class.

I watched her painting and I was thrilled with how a painting looked in the beginning. I had no idea how much farther it would go by the end of class. The lesson I learned: I fall in love with some of the backgrounds I make- to the point I hate to cover it up. Those layers aren’t precious but they are important. They add depth to the art.

Another lesson I learned was to not give up on a painting. I thought where I started was so-so but as I added the layers I began to see how the early layers played a role in the look as I continued to add more. Where I was less than thrilled was just another place to put color, a stencil, a stamp, a smudge.

Here are a few shots of Jodi’s in class demo in progress.

At this point I loved the painting! I felt it was amazing here but she kept going at made it even more interesting.Jodi doesn’t like wasting paint. I love that because I hate to waste it too. We used our extra paints, the wet stencils, and any other supplies on a group canvas. It looked a bit chaotic at the end of the first class but when I saw it later in the week I was blown away. Wish I had taken a picture! I can’t wait to take another class with Jodi!

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Sue Pelletier Class

This was my first class with Sue Pelletier. If I see her teaching, I will sign up for the class in a heartbeat. Why? Because it was amazing. Her class was very well paced. Her teaching style was relaxed and informative. She showed me supplies I have used before, but now I know a new way to make art. Like plaster of paris gauze. I’ve used it for mask making with the kids but now I can make clothes out of them! It was incredibly messy – doing it outdoors was a good move. It was also incredibly addictive. Best part – we didn’t wait for the gauze to completely dry before we started on the painting. Immediate gratification. So many possibilities, so many options. So much excitement. This project was about the layers – forgiving layers. At different stages I wasn’t sure about where it was going or I just didn’t like something it would be changing soon. As each layer went on it interacted with those before it – completely changing it.