Wednesday, December 31, 2008

MY CARROLLWOOD CULTURAL CENTER CLASSES

MY CLASSES WILL BEGIN THE WEEK OF JANUARY 12th!
Call 813 269-1310 to register with a credit card
For more information go to the Course Catalog online here
(ignore a strange notice that you can't view Adobe files in your open browser window if it appears! Click OK or go to http://www.carrollwoodcenter.org/ and click on Programs and Schedules on the Navigation Bar then click the link to the classes for January/February)

Classes run for six weeks. Price for Carrollwood Cultural Center members is $90 and $100 for non-members

Here is the schedule:

Digital Photography
Monday Evening 6:00 - 7:30 pm

For beginners! We will examine the camera, how to get photographs out of the camera and onto a computer, tweaked in a photo editing program, printed and displayed. Bring your camera. You should have rudimentary computer skills.

Introduction to Computers
Tuesday Morning 9:00 - 10:30 am
Wednesday Afternoon 4:00 - 5:30 pm

Don't know how to turn the computer on? This one is for you! We try to keep it very low-tech and very basic. The class will cover many aspects of using a computer, especially how to navigate the Internet and send E-Mails. The class computers use Vista, but the class is designed for both Windows XP and Vista users.

Intermediate Computers
Tuesday Morning 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Wednesday Evening 6:30 - 8:00 pm

You should have basic computer skills for this class. This class is informally structured to try to answer your questions and problems using the computer. We will cover some of the common software applications from Microsoft and Adobe, as well as some of the features that come with your computer to create a variety of documents you might want such as letters, cards, spreadsheets, brochures and business cards. We examine some periphals and give an overview of routine maintainence and how to stay safe in today's cyberspace.

Oil Painting
Saturday Morning 9:30 - 11:30 am

The class will show you how to think like an Impressionist Painter. It will focus on building a canvas and how to develop a painting in 6 stages. We think first of design, then value, then color, then the details. We will paint from life in this class, using your props or mine. Materials are very basic and may be purchased locally from any art or crafts store. More details are available by contacting me, or looking in the back of the course catalog.

NOTE: An added bonus in most all of my classes are booklets or single sheet handouts which are designed to be either a guide when working at home, or an expansion on topics presented in class.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas Greetings to Everyone

I wish you a

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year


or the politically correct version

Happy Holidays

Sunday, December 14, 2008

A Christmas Special!


The Red Shoes
Watercolor 13 x 15 (matted)
$45.00 plus shipping
Santa says he wants these shoes for his wife!



Monday, December 1, 2008

This Was A Very Difficult Month

My husband fell on Halloween weekend. I won't go into the gory details of this incident except to say that his injury was so severe he has been unable to walk for most of this month, requiring full time care from me and an occasional hired CNA when I had to be away from the house for long stretches.

I am a much better artist than I am a nurse!

But the only good news about this month is that I was able to spend time making two drawings. It occupied my mind which was a good thing, as I was engulfed in worry and anxiety for most of the month.

My supermarket orchid decided to bloom awhile ago. It failed and I was very disheartened to watch the bloom stalk wither and die. But months later it put out another shoot and it has been fun to watch it progress into full bloom. I think that had I not had the crisis with my husband ongoing I might not have spent the time making this drawing.

Orchid Graphite on Bristol Plate $75
I was so happy with the results of this drawing I decided to keep on and dug out a drawing I started months ago of a guitar. I set it up in the same position but somehow it was very stale and I lost enthusiasm for it, so I decided to flip the paper and start over anew. It turned out to be much more difficult than the original drawing and I found myself able to really focus lots of good attention on it between visits to my husband's bedside.

The result:Guitar Graphite and Sewing Thread on Bristol Plate $75


What you can't see in this photograph are the strings of the guitar which I finally resolved by putting thread into a needle and literally sewing them into the drawing! It really is a fun piece.

These two, and six other drawings will be on display at the Hillsborough County Library, North Tampa Branch, for the month of December as the North Tampa Arts League Artist of the Month.