I meant to talk about this last week, but time got away from me. I am taking the Bloom True e-course with Flora Bowley. It is an on-line version of the in-person workshops she has been teaching around the world, and this is the first ever run of the e-course.
I first learned of Flora when Beth Nicholls announced the course in her newsletter. I had just finished another online painting course around Thanksgiving, which was a mistake. The course was good, I just should have known that November would be about the worst time for me to try to do a class. Except possibly December, which was the time the class remained open for catch-up. *sigh* Anyway, after that mostly-failure, I was hesitant to spend money on another possible failure.
But I signed up immediately anyway.
I just started painting a little over a year ago, and I find it very intimidating. I know I have to actually paint and practice to get better at it, but it's so intimidating that I don't do it as often as I should. Flora's idea of "intuitive" painting and creativity as a joyful process just spoke to me so loudly, I couldn't resist signing up.
Above is my little painting nook in the office as it has been for the past year-ish. You can see from the fading and discoloration of this photo that this is clearly out-dated (hahaha--filters for maximum symbolism)! I love having little cozy spaces in my home. We lucked out with this basic white-box apartment, in that to accomodate the balconies (extra lucky) there are nooks in the livingroom and office. In the livingroom it is just wide enough to accomodate two tall book cases, and with the addition of a lamp, table, and chair it is a cozy reading nook. And a basic white table in the office gives me a nice little creative space.
But Bloom True uses larger canvases and requires free movement, so I needed to change it up. I was cautious about moving furniture, as I still need the room to function as an office. The downside of balconies in every room? Sliding glass doors that limit furniture arrangement possibilities in every room. So I decided to pretend the door was a window and put the table in front of it anyway!
So far it is working great. I put a tarp and old table cloth on the floor. Unfortunately I didn't think of taping newsprint to the walls until after I splattered them a little. Whoops! But I really like the new set up. So does Hamilton, unfortunately. It's more inspirational than sitting in the cramped little corner. Now I can dance around as I lay down the fun, free-form foundation layers in the Bloom True class. And I do.
Those were just the first 2 layers of one of my canvases. There are several on top of it now, and I'm just having to trust this new process and enjoy the mere act of making marks with paint. And I am.
I love having a little solitude. A little room to experiment and be creative and unselfconscious. And as a reward for signing up for this inaugural e-course right away, I will be receiving a copy of Flora's book when it is released in May. That should keep me inspired and enjoying my art nook as the year unfolds. This may not be the most elegant or attractive set-up of all time, but it's working for me, and it's one of my favorite places to be.
July 22, 2012 
