Moodling with Kari McKnight Holbrook

I was not at my best last May when I went to the Moodling workshop with Kari McKnight Holbrook at SmittenDust

But oddly enough, art really can take you out of yourself that the headache -- which, as soon as you think about it is a killer -- really isn't that noticed.

Working with lovely people who are all creating their own unique versions of the sample and guidance that we are learning is motivating, delightful and fun.

Learning new techniques that you know you will use again feels as though you are actually accomplishing something. I'm not going into details, because on things like this I feel that sort of belongs to the teacher. But this is enough to give you the idea.

Our Moodling class involved taking a 4 inch square canvas (although that size is optional), painting it with acrylics, then using techniques such as texture and crackle glaze to give it character.

Add to that the polymer clay embellishments we made: hearts, birds, an Eiffel Tower. Ours all were different which was what made it fun.

Then after that, a word, a phrase, a highlight or two, some beads or buttons. Voila! Art!

That makes it sound very simple. But if it was, I would have finished! Of course I didn't finish my pieces in class. It's more likely that I don't rather than do!

So I took them home and now, several weeks later, the finished pieces!

 This one has my made-by-me Eiffel Tower, an antique button from a Parisian flea market and the texturing you saw above That crackle doesn't show up well in the photo, but really, it does!

A couple of us were captivated by this bird mold. I had a dickens of a time with painting the background and gessoed-and-removed more than once! The nest are lines from an old French book, the eggs, pearls.
Kari is an incredible teacher -- she's fun, she explains things well, she's generous with her supplies and she brings great spirit and energy to any class -- I've taken others from her as well, and will gladly take more. I strongly recommend her as a teacher -- and her projects are just plain fun!

There will be more of these wee canvases. In fact, in class I prepped two others. One is nearly done; the other still requires some creative thinking. But I'll share those, too!

Meanwhile, I just want to thank Kari and Dusty of SmittenDust for bringing wonderful artists to Lansing. Jen Crossley did workshops at SmittenDust at the same time Kari was there and Kristin Robinson is coming in August. We all loved the shopping opportunity, the delightful atmosphere and jolly times being creative. If you're in the mid-Michigan (or beyond) region and are interested in checking out the upcoming workshops, visit SmittenDust.com -- and get on Dusty's email list!