Connie Hozvicka has just announced that there WILL be a 21 Secrets 2012!! I am all atwitter.
I gifted myself with this year’s 21 Secrets, and have learned and grown a lot, and met some amazing artists. I’ve tried things I didn’t think I’d like, only to love them, and have learned to trust teaching artists – a big deal, for me. I even bought some art!!
Many of next year’s teachers are artists whose blogs I already follow, people who feel like “bigshots” to me.
doodles, color and words. My professional background is in retail buying,
product development, and marketing — all experiences that gradually prodded me
to dig into my neglected creative side and find out what was in there. A few
years ago, I started a blog as a dumping ground for my experiments, and found
that the daily practice of making something brought me a satisfaction and
happiness that took me by surprise — I assumed the urge would run its course,
and I’d be bored with it quickly. But the more I experimented, the more I
posted, the more I mined my everyday moments for creative fodder, the more I
found myself wanting to create. And during that process, though I didn’t realize
it until much later, doing those daily experiments helped me bring together the
pieces of myself that I had always compartmentalized. Writing was always in one
folder, color experiments in another; emotions in one safe deposit box, dreams
in another; and so on. Creating every day encouraged me –forced me, really –
to stick it all in a mixing bowl and put it on high. So what started as a
lark has wound up being an essential part of my life. I can’t ever imagine
looking back now.
in New York City. Her work has been published in Cloth Paper Scissors and
Somerset Studio magazines and she was featured on (HGTV) The Home and
Garden channel. She loves to create colorful art quilts, mixed media portraits,
painted embroidery pieces called Glossies and creative tutorials. She loves
peppermint tea, Little House on the Prairie, all things densely embellished,
neon pink and 80s pop music.
Christine Mason Miller is a Santa Monica based
writer and artist who has been creating, writing and exploring ever since she
was a little girl. Her mission to inspire has provided the foundation for all
of her creative work; the desire to encourage others to pursue their passions
and create a meaningful life is the common thread throughout an expansive body
of work that includes mixed media collage, commercial illustration, photography,
writing, teaching and
speaking.
Christine’s art and writing gives
viewers a peek into a variety of details from her life, details that grab her
attention on journeys around the world as well as within her own self. Using
materials as varied as acrylic paints, ink, coffee, mannequins, vintage
photographs and other ephemera, Christine’s creations are full of color, texture
and hidden stories.
Her latest book ~ Desire to Inspire: Using Creative
Passion to Transform the World ~ was recently published by North Light
Books.
has no boundaries when it comes to creative art play! She loves mixing all
types of mediums in her art..from wax mediums to cloth projects, jewelry play to
sewing techniques .. she loves creating just about anything, though her one true
love is creating with paint and paste mediums on canvas! Christy’s latest
adventure has been teaching online classes to thousands of students all over the
world through her blog and personal website. She recently started licensing her
art designs onto fabric, dishes, wall-art, home decor and more! Christy has
been in the art industry for over 10 years: first working for a papercrafting
manufacturer, Chatterbox, and then for Scrapbooks Etc. Better Homes and Garden
Magazine as a contributing editor. She has traveled and taught her art
throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, and even South Africa. She has
been asked to come this following year and teach in Israel, Germany, Italy and
Sweden. Besides creating art full-time, she and her husband also own two online
stores: Scarlet Lime, which is a mixed media/papercrafting website and Scarlet
Lime BeadArt which carries pre-designed jewelry kits that Christy and her
husband design and package. Christy also loves social media both through her
blog and facebook. She uses both as a way to share her art , offer tutorials
and just her everyday life story to thousands of followers daily. She feels
blessed to be able to create art and support her family at the same
time.
Painter, Yogini and also the founder and director of 21 SECRETS. Through her
FEARLESS™ Painting workshops, retreats, mentoring, and soon to launch
FEARLESS™ Painting Teacher Training Program, Connie awakens
FEARLESS™ creativity in women all over the world while helping them trust
ruthlessly in their innate wisdom and grow confidant as Artists. She lives a few
inches under the sun in Arizona with her beloved husband Hansel, sweetie pie dog
Nyla, and two mellow kitties Theo and Noche. She is also currently pregnant with
her first child she affectionately calls “Gummi”, due to arrive in May 2012 to
a home full of love, paint, and laughter.
I am Dale Anne Potter, a Positive
Thinking, Inspired, Textile Mixed Media artist who lives in a small town in SW
Saskatchewan.
I make Art because it brings me JOY every day!!!
I
am inspired everyday by the world around me — nature, its textures, rhythms and
colours, the materials at hand, fabrics, paper, found objects, and the movement
of life — provides me with the ideas and enthusiasm to create new work. I teach
workshops in my small town, your town or city or online, from Beginner Quilting
to Mixed Media and everything in between.
My artwork has been exhibited
locally in Morse and Swift Current; nationally in Alberta, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan and Ontario; as well as internationally in Florida, California,
Wisconsin, Vermont, and Washington. My artwork is in private & corporate
collections in the US, Australia, Germany, England, Spain, as well as in Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.
Artist, author and teacher, Diana Trout, lives and
works just outside of Philadelphia. She has been sharing her passion for art
journaling, book arts and painting since 1993, teaching from her studio, at art
retreats, libraries and art centers and online.
“I am passionate about
making art and about encouraging my students to live a life filled with wonder.
Creating art can be an accessible, enjoyable hobby and you don’t have to be an
‘Artist’ to do it.
My mission is to educate and pass on my storehouse of
ideas and techniques to guide you along your path of strengthening creativity.
It seems that I’ve gained wisdom and insight into dealing with my critical
left-brain. I pass this on to my students.”
Diana’s work and writing has
been published in various magazines.
Arizona with my husband and 3 boys. I grew up in Ohio, Michigan, and England, so
it has taken me awhile to get used to desert living. I love absolutely
everything about art. I love looking at it, I love thinking about it, I love
teaching it, I love creating it. I started scrapbooking in 1995, and that
evolved to stamping, and then to art journaling and mixed media art. My studio
is an utter mess, but I love it and it’s where I spend most of my time. My
family teases me because there is paint on everything I own…including the
steering wheel of my van, my clothes, my sewing machine, and even my camera!
I make scrapbooking projects for Maya Road and Jenni Bowlin Studios. I have a
line of stamps, available through Stampington. I love to teach, it is a passion
of mine! I teach both online and in-person workshops. I’m a docent (tour guide)
at the Phoenix Art Museum where I give tours to school kids and get them excited
about art.
(not necessarily in that order), Dion was born and raised by the ocean in
Australia. She grew up alongside three very talented and vivacious siblings,
each with their own unique potential. Dion graduated from Swinburne Institute of
Technology and spent several jam-packed decades working and travelling the world
as a woman alone, exploring, sketching and writing about her life-changing
experiences. She met her husband on the roof of the world, trekking to Mt
Everest Base Camp. They now share their love of adventure with their two wild
and crazy children. Far from her homeland down-under, she now lives in rural
Iowa where her attempts at growing a veggie garden have been disastrous. Dion’s
work, known for its color and vibrancy, is held in private collections around
the world and her journals and sketchbooks, filled with luscious, shimmering
pages, are treasured expressions of her endless adventures and experiences.
photographer whose greatest loves have always been family, animals, b/w
photography and painting. Gina received her degrees in Fine Art and Education
from CSUN. She resides with her husband, two sons, and many furry critters in
Southern California.
Jenica McKenzie is first and foremost a woman, a
creator of life and beauty, a mama to 4 littler ones, a wife, a partner,
a companion. She resides in Utah and never ceases to be amazed by the beauty
around her. Things that make her heart sing include: paint, paper, glue, canvas,
the whir of a camera clicking a moment of life into eternity, hammocks,
trampolines, sprinklers, morning light streaming through blinds, voice,
connection, laughter, spirit, guts, yoga, breath, movement, dance, and bringing
life into this world. She is the creator of Random Art Workshops, a grassroots
movement to bring the power of creativity into your own hands with monthly
meetups; a chance to get brave among friends.
media collage artist and avid scrapbooker. She has been making art for as long
as she can remember and loves the process of creating. “I believe that mistakes
are creative opportunities and hold fast to the notion that enjoyment of the
process is just as important as the finished product! I like to think outside of
the box — experimenting with paper, paint, and fabric— always trying to find a
way to push my supplies further and see all the possibilities.”
including Cloth Paper Scissors, Quilting Arts, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes
& Gardens’ Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, Somerset
Memories, Somerset Digital, scrapbooking m.m. (Sweden), Scrapbooking &
Beyond, Simple Scrapbooks, Histories de Pages (France), books by Leisure Arts,
F&W Publications, and Quarry (upcoming), as well as multiple e-zines. Julie
is currently the co-host of Scrapbook Soup TV (PBS) and has appeared several
times on Quilting Arts TV (PBS) and hosted the “Artist to Artist” segment on
Scrapbook Memories TV (PBS). She will also be appearing on the upcoming season
of Crafting at The Spotted Canary (PBS). Julie’s hour long instructional DVD
“Collage Fast &; Furious” was released in July 2010 by Interweave. She will
have two more hour long instructional DVDs released by Interweave in 2012.
with a big art studio in the middle of New York City.
artist, beginning early as a child. My formal training was completed in 1985
when I graduated cum laude from Kent State University, with a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree. Upon graduation I began my career as an exhibiting artist,
working primarily as a wood and fiber sculptor. The work I did was very labor
intensive, detailed, and painstaking, and it began to take a great toll on my
body. I scaled back, shifted gears, changed materials, techniques, but pain
progressed, fatigue increased, and I began losing my hair. Obviously, this
wasn’t about my materials! Eventually I was diagnosed with Lupus. As an artist,
my body is my most important tool; my hands my most appreciated friends, and I
felt I was losing everything. Betrayed by my body, I was in fear of being
stripped of my passion and my ability to create. Instead, I began to use these
symptoms and sensations as guides and as another set of tools. My body has been
my inspiration, my challenge, my frustration, my obsession! And with each new
challenge, I readjust to accommodate and follow where it leads me. I continue to
work with the symptoms of Lupus, have overcome three back surgeries, breast
cancer, and a few hand surgeries, as well as emotional traumas that needed
releasing and processing through the creation of art. To me, art is healing; the
process of creating heals.
is an artist, educator, and web professional whose work focuses on the
expressive and contemplative arts. Kathryn explores her inner landscape of ideas
and feelings using collage, mixed media painting, photography, and creative
journal keeping. She founded True North Arts to share her creativity and guide
others on a journey of the heart. Kathryn’s workshops are designed to awaken
your spirit, inspire you to play, and offer you an opportunity to look within to
discover your true self and true path.
Kelly Barton is a mixed media artist and graphic
designer who brings sass to her home base of middle Indiana. Most days you will
find her in the studio with music playing and colors flying. She is inspired by
the inner-workings of a girl’s nutty mind and believes that growing up girl is
enough inspiration for any artist. Kelly’s creations can bring out the joyful
rebel in any person or space. Kelly created Kelly Barton Art +Design to remind
people that we’re all connected, and because she believes we all need a bit of
happy.
where he writes about lessons learned from his own creative journey. He writes
poetry, draws black ink portraits, has recently taken up photography, and is
never quite sure where he’s going to wind up next.
calligrapher, letter designer, painter and mixed-media artist. I love it all!! I
really do. If I am not creating something, my hands get very restless and I
start to sweat and foam at the mouth. Yes, I am addicted to creating art! I have
a degree in education and I have always loved to teach. I love to show people
whether children or “adult children” how to create things whether it’s
calligraphy, watercolor or acrylics.
Ok, so just a bit more about me, I
am a southern girl from Georgia but I live in the sunny state of Florida. I have
a wonderful hubby and a precious Corgi named Bucky. If you take any of my online
classes you will always hear him bark. I also have two children and two
grandchildren. I also have a studio called the Red Door Art Studio that is a
1922 bungalow where I create until my heart’s content. It’s my own grown up
playhouse. I started my art journey 30 years ago with my first calligraphy class
and never stopped creating art and never plan to stop unless, of course,
something stops me. But like Scarlet, I’ll think about that
tomorrow.
to Mixed Media because I could not decide on only one medium to use for what I
create and it makes me feel more free to experience whatever my heart feels
called to.
whimsical women (my Nixies) who have a strong positive message to deliver to the
Universe, to you. I believe in the power of Positive Affirmations and of
Gratitude, that both guide me all along in my creative process. I guess I am an
eternal learner, I love to unravel new ways to make my path lighter and
stronger. Healing is a huge part of my life, I am now also a Practical Reiki
Master and I noticed how it shifted the way I do my paintings and my
journaling.
Journaling. This is where my Soul soars and lets go of everything and anything.
This is how I heal. This is where my Nixies were born at first… My Art Journal
is the only place I feel safe to tell my Story the way I want, with words, with
images, combined or not. My Art Journal is my sacred temple.
Workshop” and “Print & Stamp Lab,” is a passionate mixed-media & fiber
artist who loves rusty things, glitter glue, old books to cut up and cheap
cameras. Since making her own books and art journaling have been a long time
passion of hers, she always feels better after getting her art on by slapping
some paint down and working in her journal. Through her one-woman business
Bonkers Handmade Originals, she sells her nifty creations such as hand-dyed
spinning fibers and yarns, original rubber stamps, handmade books, kits and
original artwork. She has been teaching workshops across the US since the early
90s and has branched out into online workshops.
Southern California. (I regret losing my southern drawl – it used to get me so
much attention.)
– stints in archaeology, geology, banking, gallery co-owning, television
advertising and real estate make me either a person of varied interests …. or
one lacking in focus and direction. I prefer to think I’m “colorful” and
“well-rounded”!
life, Derek, and we share our lives with his two growing “artful goddesses” and
a dog named “Flea”. They are all teaching me much about art making and living
juicy!
artist. She works mainly in oils and drawing, although she has also used
watercolours, coloured pencil, pastel, acrylics and various mixed media. Zom is
an experienced teacher. Most recently she has been leading workshops in
creativity, and has had an ongoing weekly art journaling class for the past 3
years.
teaches, rather than a teacher who creates art. This is so they won’t have
expectations that I know the ‘right’ way and am going to tell them how to do
things. We are on an exploration of creativity together. I may have a little
more experience in the journey but we are going somewhere new.”
Is this not absolutely AWESOME???!!
Happy Birthday!! When is the big day?
Hey Trece, Happy Birthday for whichever day it is. I think I will be rejoining 21 Secrets next year too.
Big love
AJ
Trece, I hope you had a great birthday on Wednesday and I am wishing you a love filled Thanksgiving.
Big love
AJ
Happy Birthday! What a great gift. I’ll be turning 61 soon (yes there is life after 60!!) and I took the 21 secrets also. I’ve been trying to decide whether to take this new one. I love julie Fei-Fan Balzer’s style and Tracy Bunker but the rest I don’t know. Guess I need to check them out. Thanks for the nudge and for stopping by my blog.