This is the third and final class of a three-part course.

Classes are held on October 28, November 4, and November 11.

Enjoy a creative distraction from all of your worries. Explore the enchanting stories of the Norse, Celtic, and Indigenous People while enhancing your artistic skills. The formal elements of art, design and composition are taught through storytelling, viewing, and personal practice.

Those who have taken courses with me will be quite familiar with my teaching style, class structure, and integrative storytelling to organically introduce formal drawing concepts of art, design, and composition. I am sure they will also tell you I have a thing about erasers!

Humans have always had an inherent need to give meaning to our existence, to place our mark, calling out ‘I was here.’ There is no civilization, regardless of how primitive, that does not have some evidence of the existence of art. Before the written word, art was the universal language that reflected society. Created with purpose to teach, sooth and celebrate, art reflects our life, our joys, deepest fears, and greatest hopes. I strongly believe that anyone can learn to draw exactly what is seen. It takes practice, time, commitment, joy, and most of all self-permission to make mistakes.

I follow a process in which I incorporate story telling with viewing other artists interpretation of the subject matter. This works to put learners at ease and to begin reinforcing a basic understanding of the fundamentals of art and the principles of design. We finish each class by working on replicating a work of art that reinforces formal concepts of art and design, builds upon your skill set, trains your eye to truly see, and allows you to develop your creative process.

So give yourself a break. Have some fun.

Give yourself permission to be creative and try new things.

Class Arrangement

1. Story Telling

• I use discussion of mythology to organically integrate the principles of design into the discussion.

2. Viewing

• Viewing other artist representations of the subject matter reinforces the drawing focus of the course

• Thoughtful inquiry and experimentation in many different media and art forms which leads to new visual

and conceptual insights

• The learner brings their interests, experiences, and understandings to the process

• Support intentional learning for the curious mind teaching artistic literacy - Art History, Art Criticism, Art

Aesthetics

3. Gesture Drawing

• This is brief, 30 second drawing that relaxes the drawer and trains you to “draw what you see not

what you know”

4. Final Drawing

Instructor Bio

Carrie Finnigan uses a playful approach in painting, printmaking and drawing of abstracted

representations of human figures and nature. Growing up in close proximity to forests and water, she

developed an affinity with the outdoors and was fascinated by the human - natural environment conflict.

This youthful interest was formally developed in a B.A. in Fine Art. She delved into artistic practice,

honing her preference for using color and line to express emotion. In each of her works a portion is

purposefully left undone to “let the light in.” This engages the imagination of the viewer, providing an

opportunity for pause, realization, and a reflection of self. The images Carrie creates are only part of the

narrative: “My art, like my mind, works like a ball of yarn. Follow the threads, and all things seemingly

random will connect.” The theme of an opening, or common thread, opens up collaboration; an artistic

exchange between the artist and observer. Carrie has also formally trained as a teacher, specializing in Art

Education. She teaches workshops to youth and adults to foster the enthusiasm that she has for visual art.