From the Students Archives - Page 4 of 4

From the Students of Liberated Artist

Posted on March 23, 2016April 8, 2018Posted in From the StudentsTagged acrylic paints, colored pencils, watercolors10 Comments

This blog post is dedicated to my painting workshop Liberated Artist.
Read how the students have experienced the class
and enjoy the wonderful art that they have made during the class!

Make Creativity Bloom!

Christie Thomas says: “Every lesson started with a bit of fear, then once started I found that I often set it aside because I could not move on to the next step. I did not “see” anything. But with Paivi’s patient encouragement on the videos and free flowing hands, I watched, listened, and tried to follow the instruction even if it was completely foreign. I finished the pieces and feel excited about my creativity.”

Move Forward with Painting!

Geraldine Norris says: “The course allowed me to move on in my art practice, by being engaged with a teacher who is inspirational, celebrates diversity, creative expression and artistic self acceptance. I now feel I am able to see a sustainable way of moving forward with my painting by having experienced a clear connection with my intuition through the weekly exercise prompts, rather than always wanting to know what work is going to look like finished. In this course I have felt supported on the journey into the unknown and encouraged to make space for the unexpected.”

See Art with Fresh Eyes!

Deb Weiers says: “The class made me more open to staying in the struggle, to be willing to walk away and come back with fresh eyes, to be able to wait longer for the art to come through. To stay open to the unexpected.”

Express What You See and Feel!

Cheryl Rayner says: This class really helped me to see how I could start from ground zero and express something that was personal. I am even encouraged to start art journaling now, which I had always been turned off to, because it seemed like everyone was just trying to see how much product they could use! Paivi’s approach is far more meaningful.”

Let the Painting Grow into a Story!

Karen Nowviskie says: “I am no longer afraid of using watercolors. Most importantly, I have learned to embrace the unexpected and be open to the story of the painting.”

Bring More Elements into Your Creative Process!

Kathy Lewis says: “I am looking at creating so differently. I don’t even know how to start to describe my excitement for this course. I trust the process so much more and look into the colors to see things that I would never have noticed before. The actual coloring process has also changed. I love mixing watercolor, color pencil, and acrylics! Never thought of some of these techniques before this class. Now I want to go through all the lessons again!”

Compose with Colors!

Mackie d’Arge says: “The class inspired me to search harder for the hidden images that appear on the painted page. I’m looking at the balance of colors now instead of just the balance of images and lines in a composition. This class was a pure joy. It was four weeks of anticipation and struggle and frustration and trying again and again…but oh what fun!”

Take Creative Escapes!

Nea Wiseman says: “It’s a wonderful course. I am starting to free up my control buttons!”

Overcome the Fear of Beginning!

Ulla M. Holm says: “I discovered that I need not be afraid of watercolors, or to start painting. I am beginning to find my own style.”

Express through Painting and Drawing!

Susan Rajkumar says: “Something huge inside of me changed, and then it became much easier to sit down and freely let it flow through me. Suddenly I could draw. Seriously. I don’t think about it much now. This was the best art course online.”

Dive into Art More Often!

Claudia Kern describes: “I expanded my artistic toolbox to include acrylics and pencils which means much more can happen/unfold than working strictly with watercolors. So for me trusting that something as yet unknown to me would emerge and having more tools to use were both liberating. I have learned so much, and the structure of the class has enabled me to make a huge leap forward in making art a part of each day.”

Let Your Thoughts Grow while You Play!

Mary Werner says: “I learned to work in phases both with materials and with slowly completing the painting. I learned to begin with one image without knowing the whole picture allowed a deeper meaning to develop as I was involved with the slow building and thinking of the process. It gave my creativity a chance to play.”

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Explore by Drawing!

Posted on August 19, 2015April 7, 2018Posted in From the Students, Processing IdeasTagged colored pencils, drawing pen14 Comments

This blog post is illustrated by students of the 4-week online workshop Inspirational Drawing. All the illustrations shown here are created at the class by these wonderful artists: Dianne Guerin, Ellen Schulz, Terri Elverum, Joan Gaetz, Alison Schockner, Cheryl Rayner, Carol Dickson, Debbie Kreischer, Virginia Clinton, Rosemary Bosse, Mary Joyce Weening, Donna Peake, Joyce Brown, Nancy Kvorka, Judy Shea and Janet Joehlin.

I have often thought about the contradiction between maintaining who I am and being open to what I can become. My friend said that when you know somebody for a long time, you can look through life circumstances and see the person that’s behind all those. And still, while situations change, we change too.

By creative drawing, we can find out where we are swimming and how deep we can go.

We can take personality tests but sometimes the best way to find out what kind of fish we are is to take a pen and start drawing.

By drawing, we can explore how we see ourselves in our surroundings.

We can pick ideas from new places and cultures.

And we can explore what’s going on inside our minds.

When we illustrate what we seem to be and how we see the world, new combinations start to grow and inspire us.

Our art journals become our inspiration books.

If we just use thinking, we can endlessly question our creativity and ability to find new solutions. But when we get into the habit of creative drawing, it will be evident that we are creative people regardless of circumstances.

When we draw out our new thoughts and ideas, we become more aware of who we are and what our style is.

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Do You Have a Talent for Creating Art?

Posted on August 12, 2015April 8, 2018Posted in Artistic Identity, From the StudentsTagged colored pencils, drawing pen13 Comments

This blog post is illustrated by students of the 4-week online workshop Inspirational Drawing. All the illustrations shown here are created at the class by these wonderful artists: Deb Weiers, Chrissie, CHB, Valerie Lima, Sandy Guderyon, Mary W, Gloria Schurman, Katia Maliantovich, Nea Wiseman, Gina Meadows, Joanne, Jacqueline Kriesels, Marie Jerred, Sue Rowlands and C in Ohio.

Let’s start the actual blog post with a personal question: Do you ever wonder whether you are talented enough?

I used to think that some day I will meet a person, both knowledgeable and prestigious, who would tell whether my art is good or bad. That thought made me both excited and worried. I became excited when I thought that someone saw more in my art than I did myself. And I became worried when thinking about the opposite result: that my art, that beautiful tower I had built, would just collapse. I would collapse.

Years went by and I got tired of waiting for a specialist’s opinion. Maybe I could be my own critic? I went to study industrial design to find out how the quality of art and design would be set. While studying I realized that there are no right or wrong. People are different. Some may like art that somebody else does not, even if they both are art critics.

Somehow that made me even more puzzled. I didn’t know what kind of people would be my people, who would enjoy my art. And furthermore, if my art was bad, there wouldn’t be many of them.

However, I became convinced that somewhere in the world, there must be people that want to use their imagination and design whatever they like. They want to build houses …

… they want to travel …

… they feel drawn to beautiful patterns, and dream about enchanting gardens …

They want to learn from the history and use it to move forward in their own direction.

The more I examined whether I have the talent, I realized that art is not an absolute in any way. Art is a channel to express and communicate. If I look outside the window, and let my mind wonder on a path, the question is not how dimensional the window frames look like or how grey the stepping tones are. I find my people by sharing how uplifting the coolness feels like when walking barefoot on a hot summer day.

Even if there are theories about aesthetics, originality, playfulness etc. which determine good art, it is the experience that matters the most. If we feel connected to our art, there are much more chances that others will too.

By strengthening our connection, we will become more talented. We start creating more and seeing more. We will have more to express and more imagination to use. We can make people calm down in front of our art, or make them run and catch thoughts about their possibilities.

Nowadays, many ask me whether they have the talent. Even before they actually start.

Here’s the answer: Your talent cannot be determined by the grades you got while you were at school. Your talent cannot be determined by an opinion of a knowledgeable and prestigious specialist. Art is not about talent. It is about having something to say and work for saying it. It is about asking “what if” and finding the answer by using both your life experience and imagination. It is about looking out the window, seeing numerous possibilities for the perspective, and bravely picking your point of view.

So, do you have a talent for creating art? Always.