Friday, February 12, 2010

Student Spotlight and Inner Critics

I love my students. They are why I teach. They inspire me and invigorate me and remind me why I spend so much time ordering supplies and schlepping them around. I've said it before and I'll say it again - you can't pay me enough for all the packing and schlepping. But once the students show up I have to pinch myself because I can't believe I'm getting paid to have this much fun!


LauraLea has taken both of my on-line classes through Quiltuniversity.com and always blows my mind with both her productivity and the beauty of her work. The piece above is a heliographic print. Sun, fabric, ferns, paint - recipe for fun!


LauraLea has used both a torn freezer paper stencil and a meticulously cut plastic stencil for this beauty. She painted it over a spray bottle piece that didn't turn out to her satisfaction. That's one of the things I like so much about surface design. If you don't like what happens the first time you play with the cloth, just do something else to it.

Here is another look at her stencil - a goddess tree. I think the repeated swirls are a stamp she carved.

And finally, some Shiva paint stick rubbings. Aren't they exquisite? Such beautiful textures she found around her home. Way to go LauraLea!


Why don't you all leave a comment and tell her what amazing work she does? Especially because she always seemed to have just a little bit of fear holding her back. She would worry, worry, worry - and then show up with these beauties. I know she's not the only one who has a little inner critic that needs to be shut away in a closet somewhere. She struggled and managed to lock that nasty critter away for a while. Good for her!!!

All of these examples are from Playing With Paint, which begins again next Friday the 19th.

How do you silence your inner critic? How does fear hold you back and how can you overcome it? I'll ramble a bit more about overcoming our fears in the next post. Until then, enjoy these beauties.

3 comments:

Laura Lea said...

Thank you! I'm honored that you chose to show some of my work on your blog Lyric. Your classes were wonderful! I learned so much and I continue to use the techniques I learned. I also got your book and am doing exercises from it.

Susan said...

They are all beautiful, but the shiva stick rubbings are my favorite. Spellbinding! WTG Laura Lea

StilinStudio said...

Watching the progression of Laura Lea's skills while she was taking your class was very interesting! And it appears that she's using the techniques she learned from you in multiple ways to continue to find her inner artist. I've been a fan of Laura Lea's for a long while now, and I always encourage her to keep on letting her creativity flow! I admire the soulful symbolism she includes in some of her art just as much as the colorful, whimsical style she uses in others. It's beautiful to see someone's true spirit come forth through their art, and with the tools you've given her (techniques), she's definitely become a more confident and experienced Artist. Way to go, Laura Lea!! Bravo!