I have heard from many of you that you are looking for a creative outlet at this time to share with your kids! Perhaps, after being at home over the past few months, you have even tackled some home projects and have the desire to refresh your walls. I personally love a project that is created with my own two hands- along with one that sparks a memory for all of those involved. 

What better way to tap into your creativity than with an abstract painting project- that can even be accomplished with kids?!

This project is one part color mixing and the other part observational drawing-both of which can be incredibly satisfying and fun! As you may know, I love to paint, especially abstracts! I often get the urge to paint more freely and in a meditative way. Color and abstraction really lend themselves to meditation. I recently came across Australian artist, Leah Bartholomew's work and I really fell in love with her style. I am a big fan of color, especially blues and pastels, so I got really excited. Here is a picture of one of her rooms below. One thing that you will love about this project is that you can do it alone, in tandem with your kids at home. 

You will want to gather some supplies for your abstract painting. First off, I would like to say that you do not need all of these supplies although paints, paper and glue are essential. I was actually able to clean out my collage paper drawer which consists of wallpapers and construction paper and I was able to re-use in that way. 

• 11" x 14" canvas board or watercolor paper 
• collage papers,  or paint swatches
• Acrylic starter set or Gouache set
• Glue-sticks- any will do, although I tend to prefer sticky ones
• Round paint brush - size 10 - or any brush will do!

For this project, I use a combination of Liquitex acrylic paints and Holbein gouaches. I love the flat designer effect of this gouache and have invested in many colors over time. 

Here is where I will summarize, what the process looks like for me. 

1. Tearing and arranging collage shapes. With children I asked them to start with 5 shapes and to tear them organically, while remembering to space them out. 
2. Once I feel happy with the arrangement/color combination, I began to glue down the paper shapes. It's interesting how later, when you are painting you can no longer recognize the torn shape from the painted one next to it! 
3. Next, I mixed a limited palette of pastel paints. To make a pastel color, you tint each color by adding white. 
4. When working with a group, I instructed students to draw an organic (wavy line) from one shape to the next, outlining each shape then painting it in. I describe it as painting series of puzzle pieces. 

Here are some results from my students! 

Later, I added in a pear and an apple! I felt that fruits were easier for my students to draw than flowers. We used tracing paper to draw on, so that background would show through. I added a bit of Modge Podge on top to seal each one. If I were doing the project on my own, I would sketch in botanical illustrations in pencil. 

You could also experiment with size. Instead of ordering a set of 3 canvas panels, you could do one large canvas like Leah does - I like this 30" x 40" canvas size for interior art. It would even be fun to create a custom painting using interior paint colors in the room!

I have to share one more of Leah Bartholomew's beautiful pieces with you before you go! So bright and summery, no?

If you loved this project, you may consider joining one of our classes below: 

• ​Watercolor for Relaxation (for adults)
• Drawing & Painting: Outdoor Adventures (for artists 8-12)

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For other family friendly art projects, check these out: 

• ​DIY Modern Hexagon Collage
• ​​Crafting Flower Leis with Kids

Happy Valentine's Day, my lovelies!  
Today, I am sharing a round-up of my top 3 Valentine's Day projects to inspire you to make a special gift for someone you love. Below you will find elevated handmade projects uniting fine art and craft to bring out the creative in you!

This project is for the nature lover in you:) One of the easiest and fun ways to get started with Natural Dyeing is with these avocado dyed silk scarves. We will be exploring this in our Indigo and Fragrance Blending workshop, where you can layer the indigo with an avocado under-dye in the process.  

These heart-shaped dream catchers are one of my most popular and viewed projects ever! These were inspired by a workshop that I attended at CAFAM with textile artist Mimi Haddon. Please tag your dreamcatchers on instagram, so that I can see them!

These block printed cards were a part of the Make Nine Challenge that I participated in last year! I had so much fun exploring block printing on paper and I would love to share the process with you.  I also marbled the envelope in a separate marbling project. 

Coming soon, I will be sharing a Q and A with a block printer textile designer and she will answer all of your questions! We would love to know what additional questions you have about block printing so that we can cover them here for you! You can email me your questions in advance. 

Happy New Year! It feels so good to be back in my studio, all rested and full of creative ideas and energy. How are you feeling? Over the winter break, I tested out 3 free essential oil recipes that you can easily try out at home with your creative friends. These recipes can be calming and grounding, and are my gift to you for the New Year! A few years back my good friend Flin, tuned me in to essential oils through her products and aromatherapy. You might remember that I shared how to make a custom room spray with her and our giveaway.

This specific technique of creating a roller blend is taught in depth at our Natural Dye and Aromatherapy workshop this Spring! For those of you that would like to get started using Essential oils at home, I am going to share a few recipes that my photographer friend, Amelia and I created this holiday as gift for friends. I also think these would make a sweet Valentine's gift with that holiday right around the corner. For this project, Amelia and I pooled our essential oil collections, and purchased a few additional oils including frankincense and bergamot to include in our recipes. Frankincense was one of Amelia's favorites from the Natural Dye and Aromatherapy workshop. Read on down for the free recipes!