Thank you for taking a peek at Out of The Shadows with Effy Wild!
When I first started art journaling in 2009 I was really paralyzed by my inability to draw. It was something that I had to work very hard to get over. Being the kind of personality I am (who, for example, when learning to knit learned how to knit socks first!), I threw myself headlong into learning how to paint faces. This has been wonderful because faces can act as mirrors into whatever is going on for us at any given moment, and they can also be ways to “call in” feeling states that we might need on any given day.
Butandalso this early emphasis on faces left me with very little skills in the way of drawing *anything else*. I could do a great background. I could do a lovely face. But what about the other things I might want to include in my art journal?
At some point in my journey, I started making homemade masks. No, not the kind you wear on your face, but the kind you create by cutting an image out so you can trace, spray, or paint around it to get the outline of the image into your art journal spread!
This opened a whole new world up to me because instead of relying on faces for every single spread I did, I could use anything that translated well as a silhouette to represent whatever it was I was trying to express!
Over the years I’ve developed a few ways of using these masks both in and out of the art journal that allow me to create beautiful, emotional paintings that express exactly what I want to express. Like so:
The body of work that’s coming out of this technique pleases me to no end because *no matter what I want to include in my spreads* I can now include without stressing about whether or not I can draw it.
Presenting Out Of The Shadows
Out Of The Shadows is a three-day workshop designed to take you through the process of using homemade masks to represent anything you wish in your art journals. Because this technique lends itself so well to working with whatever is coming up for us in any given moment, I wanted to add some instruction in connecting with your innards to discover what is needing to be tended to or celebrated as well!
The workshop began as a live event (on Zoom) and is now available as a replay!! Everything has been recorded, and will remain available right here in my classroom as a teacher-assisted self-paced experience, which means I’m always going to be around, and you’ll have forever access to the content.
In this inspiring adventure, we will spend some time in written journaling and self-inquiry to discern our strengths and/or the virtues we wish to call in to help us with our perceived tough spots (Friday), exploring what images might represent our strengths or the virtues we wish to call in and then seeking out appropriate images we can use to make homemade masks (Saturday), and then on our final day together, we will create two mixed media paintings together. I will make one painting in an art journal and one on canvas, but you can do yours however you like.
As a bonus, you will have instant access to a previously recorded spread that you can try out!!
Here’s What To Expect
DAY ONE: We will dig into the parts of ourselves we wish to engage in this workshop. This will be done through the power of free writing and guided journaling. There will be time to share our insights with one another if we wish, and I will be right there with you asking you the kinds of questions that will really get you thinking about what wants to come through to be expressed and explored.
DAY TWO: We will talk about what symbols might work to either call in the strengths and qualities we already have or the ones we wish to invite in to help us with the parts of ourselves we find difficult. We will spend some time on this day choosing our focal images and creating homemade masks to be used in our painting session.
DAY THREE: We will create two paintings together using what we’ve learned so far. I will do one in an art journal and one on canvas so you can see how the process works either way. You will be invited to work on whatever substrate you wish.
All content will be downloadable and you will have lifetime access!
What To Bring
On DAY ONE, you will need a notebook, pen, candle of any colour (optional) and a willingness to dip into your stuff *lightly* and with support.
On DAY TWO, you will need a notebook, pen, cardstock (8.5 x 11), access to a printer, or magazines (if you really can’t access a printer), and scissors.
On DAY THREE, you will need whatever you usually use in your creative practice – paints, pens, markers, glue, fixative, pastels, etc. I will demonstrate a mixed media approach to this process, but I will be suggesting substitutions and answering any questions you may have about how you might make things work with what you have.
All of this for $63!
| Product | Price |
|---|---|
Out Of The Shadows | $63.00 |