A Few 2023 Personal Goals — More Classes, More Learning

On Tuesday, I shared my Master List of Home Goals for 2023. That’s a list of goals specifically regarding projects that I hope to accomplish around the house, and I’ve been publishing that list at the beginning of every year for the last seven years. But this year, I also have some personal goals. One of those goals is to incorporate more classes (probably all online, but we’ll see) and learning into my life. And this year, the focus will be art and music.

I’ve already selected/signed up for three art classes and one music class, and I’m so excited about all of them! I have no idea when I’ll actually have time to get through them, but I’m going to do my best to make learning fun stuff a priority this year.

Here are the classes I’ve selected (and already signed up for) so far this year:

Yvette St. Amant’s Pocket Sized Sketchbook Series

This is the first class (actually a class bundle of four different classes) that I signed up for at the end of last year when she was running a holiday special at discount, you can see the classes here, along with a video showing what’s included in the classes.

What drew me to this class is her creation of these bold, colorful “pocket-sized” paintings that seem to quite simple, but then the last class teaches how to take these simple paintings and turn them digitized, seamless patterns that can be used for fabric, wallpaper, etc.

You may be thinking, “Kristi, you already know how do that. You made your own wallpaper for your studio!” Yes, I did. But I’ve never gone from my own paintings/designs to fabric and wallpaper. So I’m hoping that this class will free me up to create more fun and colorful patterns, and then maybe I’ll learn a new technique (or learn some helpful tips) for turning those into repeatable, seamless patterns.

Lynsay Green’s Flourish & Bloom Class

The second class I’ll be taking is this floral art class from Linsay Green. If you take a look at her Instagram, you’ll immediately see why I was so drawn to her art and her class.

I absolutely love her art — the bold colors, the composition, her use of florals and birds. Those are the things that drew me to her art and her Instagram account. But what drew me to her class is her use of different media in creating her art. She doesn’t just use acrylic paints. She also uses inks, pens, and probably more that I’m not aware of. So I’m very excited about this class, and I hope to combine what I learn in this class and the first class to create my own bold multi-media patterns that can be used on fabric and wallpaper.

Jane Monteith’s Fused Harmony Class

I’m only on the waiting list for this class right now, and I’m really hoping that this class won’t be too expensive for me. I’ve already taken one of her classes (similar to this mixed media class, but mine was about half that price, and probably half the information), and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Even though I took the more “stripped down” mixed media class (which doesn’t seem to be available anymore), I learned so much from her.

Jane is one of my absolute favorite artists on Instagram. She’s a mixed media artist who works a lot with patterned/textured papers (that she creates herself in some very unique ways), metals, encaustic, and resin. Her creativity blows me away. You can find her Instagram account here, and once you watch a few of her videos, I think you’ll see what I mean.

Her own style has changed over the time that I’ve been following her, and the colors she uses now aren’t quite what I like, but her methods and techniques are what intrigue me. Her creative mind comes up with some of the most amazing and unique ideas, and those are things I can use to create my own style along with my own favorite colors.

And finally…

Piano In A Flash

I’m taking piano lessons, y’all! 😀 I kept seeing this ad on Facebook and Instagram for Piano In A Flash, and I’ve been wanting to get back into playing the piano for years now. So I decided to take advantage of their holiday/new year sale.

I took piano lessons for years when I was young (elementary and middle school age), and while I can still read music and probably learn and play any beginner or intermediate piece of music that’s put in front of me (with a whole lot of practice and repetition), that’s not quite what I want to do this go ’round.

So when I saw this ad for this man’s technique of teaching music, I thought, “That’s exactly what I want!” I don’t want music theory, scales, and all that stuff. I just want the fun stuff, and I want to be able to sit down at my piano and pluck out a song with a few chords. So I’m hoping that’s what I’ll be able to do by the end of this class.

So those are the four classes I’ll be taking so far, and I’ll keep y’all posted on how they’re going and the progress I’ve made on each one. And maybe in a few months, I can even do a video of me actually playing a tune on my piano! I look forward to it being more than just a decoration in the music room, but an instrument that’s actually being used and loved and enjoyed.

 

 

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11 Comments

  1. I see a pattern there with the art classes (pun intended) – I like that! And who knows, maybe this will grow into a new line of business by the time you finish renovating (oh who are we kidding, REBUILDING) your home – there’s lots of wallpaper shops on the internet, so there’s definitely a market for this, and your designs would be unique!

  2. Those classes look like fun.

    Can you tell me what non-yellowing top coat for painted floors you think is best?

    1. To be honest, I haven’t found a great one yet. The one I used on the guest bedroom floor is probably the best so far. That was Varathane Water-Based Polyurethane Floor Finish in a matte finish. It hasn’t yellowed on the guest bedroom floor. But that’s what I used on the studio floor, and that floor has definitely gotten darker. I wouldn’t say it’s yellowed, but it has gotten darker, and around the edges of the room, it looks quite a bit darker. However, in the bedroom, I used the product “as is” straight out of the can. In the studio, I added white universal tint to it. So perhaps the darkening is the Varathane reacting to the tint.

  3. Oh, that sounds like fun, and interesting. Glad you are sharing some other interests with us. Love to hear what you think as you get going. Always great to expand knowledge – you never know what you will find that you LOVE to do! Great escape when renovation needs a break.

  4. The classes sound so fun! How did you end up finding these sources? Just people that you’ve run across on Instagram?

    1. The first one (Yvette) is new to me. I just saw her ad on Facebook one day and clicked on it to see more about it. Once you click on an ad on Facebook, you start to see it more and more, so I finally bought it.

      The second one is an artist I recently started following on Instagram. I love her stuff so much that I asked her if she has classes.

      I’ve followed Jane Monteith on Instagram for probably four years now. She’s one of my favorite artists, so I was there when she released her very first online class. She’s had a couple of others that I didn’t purchase, but I’m very interested in her new one coming up, so I got on the waiting list.

      And the piano class was also a Facebook ad. There are about three different piano teachers’ ads that I keep seeing over and over again, but this guy’s method interested me the most.

  5. This is great, Kristi. Now that I’m retired, I love taking art classes on line and I person. And the artists are from all over the globe and it blows me away how open my world has become. Im sharing an IG account from Karen Elaine who does some marvelous mixed media. I first saw her demonstrating origami on the Carol Duval shows in the 90s; wow! she is so talented. Also Marian from MissMustardSeed had paper and fabric made from some of her lino prints she carved and mittens she knitted. So many fabulously talented people out there!!
    Anyhow have fun and be sure to show off your creations.
    https://instagram.com/karenelainecreative?igshid=NDk5N2NlZjQ=

  6. You have inspired me Kristi. I too have a beautiful piano which has been sitting idle for years, Time to do something about it.
    I have been taking watercolour classes and belong to a watercolour class at my local u3a (don’t know if you have those in the US it stands for University of the third age. People over 55 passing on their skills to others. I am also a tutor for their poetry/writing class). So yes I love these gorgeous florals with birds so time to try some new skills. Thanks Kristi.