2024: Creativity Lab

36 Video Lessons, 24 Zoom Work Sessions, Lifetime Access, Online Community & More!

36 Lessons – $198

My creative life has always been a mish mash of experimenting, puttering, teaching and making lots of stuff and this yearlong class is about all of that. I’ll be teaching 36 recorded lessons  that go from inspiration to finished project in a causal “Lab” format from my working studio.

Class has Live and Recorded components. Begins January 4th!

TEACHER: Carla Sonheim

Class Description

2024: Creativity Lab
36 Video Lessons; 24 Live Work Sessions

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Hi! And welcome to our 12th yearlong class!

We started with the Year of the Giraffe in 2013 and some of you have been with us since then… thank you! We are so grateful to have this special place all year long to grow and encourage each other through the ups and downs of the creative process!

I will be teaching 36 lessons this year (with a few guests thrown in), and if you’ve taken a yearlong class from me before, you know what to expect… monthly mixed-media projects, a community to share with and lots of fun exercises designed to recover a joyful, childlike approach to creating.

We will be working in all media and the projects will center mostly around animals, faces, flowers & plants and some patterns and abstraction. A year of drawing, painting, collaging, writing, sewing, printing and creating together!

Here’s what you get in 2024:

• 36 Recorded Video Lessons. Three lessons each month, the 1st, 2nd & 3rd Thursdays:

  1. The first lesson of the month (10-15 minutes) is an “input” lesson and I will share inspirations in the form of books or guest artist interviews, and an assignment to do research on that month’s topic.
  2. The second lesson  (15-20 minutes) I’ll share what I’ve found the past week and we’ll get out our supplies and experiment with techniques and exercises.
  3. The final lesson each month (30-45 minutes) will be more in-depth project/assignment (based on the experiments and inspirations from the previous two weeks).

• 24 Optional Zoom Work Sessions (roughly every two weeks) to meet with others while doing your thing and a sharing time at the end.

• Something New. The lessons will be filmed this year in my working studio to make them more personal, spontaeous and fun for everyone.

• Bonus! Monthly To-Do Lists. We will have a monthly theme (“More is More!” or “Drawing with Paint!” or “Ink!”) and you will always know what to expect because you will receive a monthly “To-Do List” the first of each month with all the times, dates and any extra-credit “assignments.”

I’m really excited for this coming year and really hope you will consider joining our group of like-minded creatives from all over the world!

Carla (and Steve)

If the above video won’t play, click this link and a screen should pop up!

And this year’s calendar:

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Some artwork from previous yearlong classes to give you an idea of the types of projects and work we might do in 2024:

 

 

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Nuts & Bolts

• The Lesson Videos will be pre-recorded and be available in your class account by 1am PT each scheduled lesson day. Once the video is up, you can access it on your own time schedule.

• Community Forum. We will have two private forums (Facebook and Padlet) to share our work and be inspired by the work of others.

• No art experience necessary… really! Just jump right in.

• We have kept the price the same since 2014 because we want this class to be accessible to everyone! That said, we understand hard times and don’t want you to miss out if finances are truly an issue. We have a limited number of scholarships available and you can apply  HERE.

• Thank you for being here and I hope you can join in!

 

Carla Sonheim is a painter, illustrator, and creativity workshop instructor known for her fun and innovative projects and techniques designed to help adult students recover a more spontaneous, playful approach to creating. Carla is the author of three instructional art books, including Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists: 52 Creative Exercises to Make Drawing Fun; Drawing and Painting Imaginary Animals: A Mixed-Media Workshop and The Art of Silliness: A Creativity Book for Everyone. In 2012 she co-authored Creative Photography Lab with her husband, Steve Sonheim, and has a new publication out called “Chasing Rabbits: Life, Creativity & the Pursuit of Happiness.” They live in Seattle, WA.

Supplies

Please note! The supplies listed below are the basic supplies you will need for this class. Sometimes we might work with specific brands, etc., and I will let you know about those ahead of time as I am able. However, in most cases supplies can be substituted with materials you might already have on hand!

General Supplies

– Sketchbook, around 9″x12″ or smaller… I like the Canson Mix Media and also lately have been working in a Kunst & Papier brand.

– Watercolor paper … I use about a 140# hot press (smooth) paper… mixed-media paper is good, as is bristol board… I have a lot of partly painted paper that I plan to recycle this year, so go through some of your art drawers and find scraps and put them in a pile!

– a stack of thinner papers such as computer copy paper, rice paper, wax paper, junk mail… don’t buy anything new!

– a selection of pencils and pens; various markers, paint pens, pastels, oil pastels, crayons, wax crayons, colored pencils — what you have is fine!

– watercolors – I have various kinds and they all work great… my favorite though might be a Pelikan pan set.

– acrylics – again, so many kinds! I am partial to those who dry matte, but have plenty of glossy paint to use up this year.

– alcohol inks, at least three colors

– white gesso

– brushes – large and small

– matte gel medium and gloss gel medium

– glue sticks

– scissors and exacto knife

– collage ephemera

– Tape! Decorative Washi tape, colored masking tape and packing tape

– access to printer or copier

– Optional: a Gelli® Plate! I prefer the 8″x10″ size… I will be pulling out the Gelli Plate a lot in this class, so it’s recommended that you have one (or some alternative printing setup).

– a brayer.

Nuts & Bolts

– This is an ongoing workshop throughout 2024. Lesson 1 will be available by 1am PT on Thursday, January 4, 2024.

– Private forums will be available for you to (optionally) share your artwork and enjoy and learn from the artwork of others. You may also email Carla with questions or feedback at [email protected].

– You will have indefinite access to this class.

– Thank you for being here!

“I particularly wanted to thank you for incorporating live Zoom calls into the course. Those live sessions have made me feel less isolated and I feel they fostered inclusivity, especially for individuals with disabilities. It's a testament to your commitment to creating an environment where everyone can thrive and participate fully. In a world that often feels dominated by social media, your course with the live Zoom calls stands out as a haven for genuine interaction, learning and sparks true creativity.” — ZM