half way...

...phew! i promised to post more often didn't i? erm, that didn't happen, sorry. well, i'm halfway through the 'make art that sells' online course and it's been a whirlwind.

i don't want to write a saccharine oh-my-god-it's-amazing type blog post, i want to write something honest because actually, a lot of it hasn't been amazing, but that's because of my own hangups, not because of the course. (it's ok, i promise i won't say the phrase 'an amazing journey' a la the Xfactor.)

my biggest hurdle has been the talent in the class. the range of abilities is broad, from students who are just so out of this world talented, i can't believe they haven't got an agent of their own and raking it in, to more beginner types. although we're encouraged to work in any media, i'd say at least 80% of students are VERY proficient in digital design and my own self taught photoshop knowledge looks pretty damn pathetic i can tell you. but because this was meant to stretch me, i decided to do the first assignment, bolt fabric, completely digitally from drawing with my wacom tablet to colouring which rather threw me at the deep end.

the brief was 'tropical fruit and vintage pyrex'. i was so pleased with this when i was finished, but looking at it harshly, i can see it falls down in a million ways. i struggled with colour (for flip's sake - tropical fruit = summer! what was i thinking?!) i wan't exactly tropical in my choice of fruit, & my pyrex icons don't really stand out, and i should have worked harder on my co-ordinates. i struggled more than i thought i would with this because i felt pressure being 'a fabric person' - but i mainly struggled because i wouldn't personally use fabric with fruit and kitchenalia on it in my quilts.

anyway...the following week was home decor, and plate design using succulents as a design source. i MUCH preferred this assignment and worked hours and hours on this. i scanned in my drawings and coloured them digitally. i created these with myself in mind - would i buy these? yes. whenever i see this image, it makes me happy. i'm not going to lie, i was gutted when this didn't get chosen for review by lilla herself - every week, lilla selects students work to talk about. there's lots of emphasis on her not necessarily choosing the best work to review, but let's face it, that's what everyone wants, even if nobody admits it.

this week was children's book week, a book cover or page spread based on the aesop fable 'the fox & the crow' and i submitted this on saturday. i was absolutely petrified about this assignment. i don't draw animals, much less cutesy characters with bundles of personality. BUT i surprised myself by enjoying every single brushstroke. i know it's not good enough for review, but i'm absolutely fine with that - because of this assignment, i've discovered i much prefer getting my hands dirty and actually, although a bit of photoshop knowledge is helpful, i'm not at all interested in creating digitally from start to finish.

this week i'm a little bit excited because it's wall art week and it's less about working digitally and more about collage and mixed media, much more in my comfort zone, plus the boys are back to school on wednesday so more time! oh yes!

so there you are, my hectic three weeks fitting in the boys on easter hols with hours of work, what a juggling act, what an amazing journey.....oh shit, sorry.