Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Painting for 2009

From Artful Endeavors we wish you a wonderful Holiday Season filled with family, friend, and above all, Peace.

We look forward to painting with you in 2009!

Liz, Lynn, Carol, Dianne, and Nancy


Artful Endeavors News!

Join us for our New Year of Painting Party

Sun, Jan 4, 2009, 2p – 4p.

This is our open house time to get together after the holiday and get ready to paint for 2009. We’ll have paintings from our students exhibited and samples of upcoming winter class projects. You can pick up prep, buy supplies, see new products,

and visit with painting friends.

Bring your families, friends, and anyone who might be interested in starting to paint with us. Bring a snack to share and we’ll have a snacking good time.


We have a new blog! It’s all about our students’ wonderful paintings. Watch for blog updates! www.studentsartfulendeavors.blogspot.com.


2009 Winter Schedule With Liz Miller CDA

Mark your calendar now!


Tuesday 10am - 12:30p Open Class

Make up a missed class or work on your own project with assistance from Liz. New projects $24/wk

Jan 6 & 13 Chipmunk in a cup A Sherry Nelson design

Jan 20, 27 & 2/3 Country Quilts A Liz Miller design

Feb 10, 17, & 24 Paint your house Your design


Wednesday 10am - 12:30p

Jan 7, 14, & 21 Snow Bunny A Shelley Prior design

Jan 28, 2/4, & 11 Vase of Roses A Sue Pruitt design


Wednesday 2p – 4:30p

Jan 7, 14, & 21 Oriental Poppy A Peggy Harris design


Wednesday 6:30p - 9p

Jan 7, 14, & 21 Snow Bunny A Shelley Prior design

Jan 28, 2/4, 11, & 18 Winter Quiet A Dorothy Dent design


Cary Tuesday 6:15p - 8:30p

Jan 6, 13, & 20 Oriental Poppy A Peggy Harris design

Jan 27, 2/3, & 10 Vase of Roses A Sue Pruitt design


See Project Photos at www.artfulendeavors.blogspot.com

If you would like to help us plan our classes for 2009, be sure to be in our upcoming classes. We’ll be making our next choices soon!


Workshops

Fri Jan 16 10a – 12:30p or 6p – 8:30p

I’m looking for just the right project now!

Sat & Sun Jan 31 & Feb 1 Secret Garden.

It’s the wonderful Ronnie Bringle bunny design that Liz painted on the bench. Instructor Liz Miller

Register at least 1 week prior to class.

Fee due at registration.



Artful Endeavors Seminars for 2009


Ginger Edwards Seminar: Mar 13- 15, 2009 Registration is open! We are pleased once again to offer a great weekend of painting with Ginger Edwards. If you have painted with Ginger before you will know that she is a wealth of knowledge about decorative painting and such fun to host at a seminar. This year Ginger will teach us more of her wonderful flowers and a terrific new Tuscan design. She is planning to send project samples to us in mid Dec. Register now for a great seminar!


Ros Stallcup Seminar: July 20 – 26 Registration is open! Dec 1 we will open registration for single days for any remaining seats with balance due in full at registration. Ros will be painting entirely new designs for us this spring and they usually arrive at the studio sometime in April. But don’t wait till projects are in to secure your seat. We may be full.


Ronnie Bringle’s “Five Days in Focus” seminar: Be sure to register with Ronnie for her five day seminar held at Artful Endeavors, Aug 18 – 22, 2009. We’ll paint Ronnie’s outstanding “Welcome Friends” on a 20 x 24” framed canvas. You’ll get a little landscape experience plus all the blending techniques that Ronnie is known for in her still life set ups. Register at www.ronniebringle.com.


Kathie George Seminar: We had such a great time painting with Kathie in Sept that we have invited her to teach for us again next Nov 16, & 17! We’ll have more information for you later. Meanwhile, let us know if you would like more watercolors, batik, or mixed media.

Registration information will be posted on www.artfulendeavors.net



Basics In Decorative Painting

All you need is the desire to paint!

Our Basics course is designed for students with no painting experience OR for painters with experience but who are not familiar with our techniques.

Over a 5-week period, we paint and practice, learning basic techniques and art theory. Starting with unfinished wood, we learn general preparation, which can later be adapted to various surfaces. By the end of this class you will have completed a great painted project and will be prepared to continue with your decorative painting education.

Classes in the basics are limited to 6-10 students so that our teachers can provide individual attention.

We also offer ongoing classes since there is always more to learn.


Class Fee: $195 includes supply kit, paint, and brushes. Your choice of wood is purchased separately.

Beginning Basics Classes

5 week sessions

New session starting in Jan!

Day: 10a – 12:30p Or

Sept 24 Evening: 6:30p – 9p

Contact Liz to register at 919-847-4101.

919-847-4101

Register Now!

We have gift certificates! Tell your family and friends it’s just what you want.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Painting for 2009



We’ll paint this chilly snow bunny, a wonderful Shelley Prior design, in Jan on Weds and the cute Sherry Nelson chipmunk will be painted on Tue morning. Watch for the rest of the schedule to come out soon!



Be sure to mark your calendar for our New Year of Painting Party on Sun, Jan 4, 2p – 4p.

Bring a snack to share, your family, and friends.

Students in our classes will exhibit their painting for us.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Santas, Elves, and Kings


We're painting for the holidays. Santa's are always some of our favorite subjects. Here are some of the wonderful designs from Jo Sonja Jansen and Bobbie Takashima that we're enjoying this season.

We have more snow scenes, snowmen, and even some nonholiday projects coming up.
Join us for some painting fun.

Be sure to check out the wonderful new painting by our students on Students Artful Endeavors.


Explore your Creativity

My wonderfully creative friend, Gail is a wonderful writer. When she writes, you can almost visualize her thoughts. I have her permission to post an article she wrote on creativity that hit home with me. Here is Gail Schmidt. You can find more about Gail's creative thoughts, on line business, and on line classes at Shabby Cottage Studio.

A Fragment of Thought on Creativity

Posted: 16 Oct 2008 10:47 AM CDT

It has long been a belief of mine that each and every one of us is creative. And that the hardest thing is to convince people that yes they are creative...they just haven't given themselves a chance, or as many of us, are to hard on themselves. Sometimes we have a tendency to think that if something doesn't come easily or quickly...if we try our hand at something new and we "don't get it", on the first few tries, well then we're just not creative and can't do that. We give up, move on, all the while telling ourselves and others...oh I don't have a creative bone in my body.

Sometimes this belief that you are not creative is more a matter of preconceived ideas of what is considered being "creative". It's interesting that children never have this fear. Watch them at play as they invent imaginary friends or invent games that only they know how to play. Hand them a box of crayons and a piece of paper. Soon they will be telling you a wonderful enthusiastic story about what their drawing is all about. Even if all you see are scribbles.

I've said it before and I will continue to say it. Creativity is a mind-set. And attitude. More so than skill or talent. Creativity comes in many shapes and forms. When it comes to being creative so many of us, as we grow older, seem to lose our child like spontaneity and sense of fun. We become more concerned about our notions of, is it right or wrong, or feeling embarrassed or frustrated if we try something new and don't achieve perfection on the first few tries. Be gentle on yourself....if there is something you truly want to learn to do, don't give up on it after a few tries with the familiar, "Oh I don't have a creative bone in my body". Give yourself a chance. Embrace each mistake as a moment of learning.

I do not remember where I heard this but many years ago I heard about spirit points. The conversation was about mistakes and perfection. A spirit point is a mistake purposely put into a piece of work to keep us humble and remind us that only God is perfect. Perfection is not the elimination of imperfection but the ability to learn to incorporate imperfection into our life. I know I myself am still learning this.

Want to try something creative? Then set youself one rule on whatever you choose to attempt. No negativity. Allow youself to feel free to explore, to experiment, to make mistakes with no fear of ridicule or feelings of failure.

Embrace your mistakes! :-)
xoxo
Gail

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Forest Elf


Here is the Forest Elf, a Bobbi Takashima design that we'll paint on Nov 1. Register now!

Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Good King Wenceslas


I've added another painting to my Christmas plate collection, JoSonja Jansen's wonderfully whimsical Good King Wenceslas. You have a choice between two times of day to paint Good King Wenceslas, beginning Oct 29 at 2p or at 6:30p. I have prep ready at the studio. Let me know if you would like to join us.

I'm working on the Woodland Santa a fun Bobbi Takashima design that we'll begin painting on Nov 5, at 10am. I'll have a photo of him soon.



I'll be in the studio Wed all day and Thurs afternoon this week before leaving for my fall vacation. We have to go see all the wonderful colors in the mountains. I'll return on Mon, Oct 27. Liz

Monday, October 13, 2008

Students Artful Endeavors

Our painters have been working on their holiday designs and have completed some delightful paintings. Check out some their work on the students blog.


Our students are entering their paintings in the NC State Fair Crafts and Hobbies exhibit! Be sure to check out this wonderful sampling of their paintings. You will find them in the Hobbies and Handicrafts building next to the Village of YesterYears. This is a great way to show others the quality of our paintings.

Another Mirror for ALTA



I finished my mirror for The Assistance League of the Triangle Area thrift shop! How are you coming with yours?

I have heard from our ALTA member that the mirrors have sold great at the A to Z Thrift shop bringing in money for ALTA's programs to benefit triangle women and children in need. They sent us a nice thank you note for the mirrors that have been completed so far and are very supportive of our painting.

Kathie George Seminar 2008


We had such a wonderful time with Kathie. The Heart of Carolina Tolers chapter of the SDP hosted Kathie at Artful Endeavors for three days and then Artful Endeavors hosted Kathie for two more fun days. Kathie creates such exciting paintings with her innovative techniques.


Take a look at some of our days with Kathie. We hope to have her return soon.


Thursday, October 9, 2008

Ginger Edwards seminar 2009!

Here is the beautiful rose design that Ginger will teach for us in our upcoming March seminar! She calls this a different rose and it's a gorgeous different rose.

Our 2 other seminar projects will be new designs that Ginger is designing just for us. I'll have photos as soon as I receive them from Ginger.

For more seminar information see our seminar page on ArtfulEndeavors.net