The new adventures

From Artist to Teacher

Now to start from the beginning of this long road from the kitchen to a large Painting Convention.


After teaching in a small local shop I found my self in a few local retreats teaching. For me it was a long stretch from my friends in a small town to much larger number of ladies in a state park lodge. Oh well, who could cry at having to stay 3 or 4 days in a beautiful state park.





The building at the left was Turkey Run St. Park and I began to look forward to teaching there. It became a fun time of sharing with others and staying in the wild area of Central Indiana. It challenged my painting in a huge way. To paint local birds and flowers was such a thrill. With this new adventure came the great privalage of a great new friend. A sweet little lady, Nora McKinney became more than a friend. Through her I learned about nature. She was a walking book of knowledge. She could name all the stars as we sat in a campground. Then there was her knowledge of wildflowers.

So where can a little house wife from a small town who picks up a paint brush go with this new love. She begins this road to new friends, new confidence in her skills as painter and teacher and new places to go. I was quite content to go no farther.

There were several teaching skills I seem to pick up from the beginning. Nora became my traveling assistant and my confidence builder.



1. I wanted them to have, "that can do feeling". After 15 yr. of teaching I have had only one person I truly could not teach to do a picture. The reason I think that happen was because she truly believe I couldn't teach her anything. She said it over and over in class. Well, guess what, I couldn't.
   
   


2. I searched for every tool I could find to put them at ease and show them they were going to be successful. Actually laughter would be my greatest tool. At times that was were Nora came in, doing simple funny things.



3. I would spend great deal of time preparing enlarged drawings and samples to aid in class.




4. Then there was the instruction packet I would prepare for class. These would contain detail instruction and most would have several picture to help clarify what I was trying to convey
   
   A very surprising thing happen over time. I found that this was a very fulfilling feeling to see someone who was uncertain at their ability to paint anything let alone the piece we were working on, to walk out with a piece they were happy with.
   
   

These people were so grateful and thought I was much more talented than I was. To meet people that werre more than willing to take on a new challenge was the real talent.

After some time I realized I might be rather good at this. At least I had people asking me back again and again.

So, here I was in my happy little world of teaching at home and local retreats.


Free Gift
For fun, If you would like to try your hand a one of my fun flower painting I will send on for free. Just e-mail me and I will attach the pansies and Butterfly Painting on the left.

1947kjones@sbcglobal.net

www.creationsbykat.com

http://1947kjones.googlepages.com/home

The Relectant Teacher

I really am a very shy person, so when one day, as serious as she could be my art teacher said I am moving and you will teach this class. You don't say, now I was sure she had lost her mind. But after looking into the faces of her class the first time and they did not throwing anything at me, I soon realized that my growing love for painting could be enhance with a great love of sharing this love with others.



After teaching a while I very hesitantly was talked into small side trips to teach a seminar here and there. Now this is quite differrent than facing a little group in my home town. I had become deeply drawn into Decorative Art or Tole Painting as it was first known and was privilege to meet a Decorative art teacher that traveled all over the country teaching at different conventions. She worked with me weekly till after 3 yr. I received my CDA. I submitted to some Decorative Art Convention and to my surprise I was off. I have been going to Conventions all over the country. Actually my next trip is just for pleasure and will complete my visits to every state in the Union except Hawaii. I will try to add to this story and journal from my very real painting trip, in future Posts

It seem I was always a reluctant teacher. I was more or less forced to teach locally. Was practically dragged to teach at a small painting retreat. Told by a National Decorative Artist I could get ahead if I acquired my CDA (Certified Decorative Artist) and that she expected me to teach at National Decorative Art Convention. Ya! I am just the little small town house wife who likes to paint Gods

beautiful scenery .

Were can art get you.

Around

The Entire

Country





What started as a hobby turned into a great opportunity to paint and teach all across this country? In future post I will journal this entire adventure from its mysterious beginning of this wild ride.

As I look back on this long road I feel some real excitement on revisiting the memories of this adventure of it all.

At the very beginning I was so unaware of just who I was and my need for adventure. I see it now but I didn't understand that the reason I even dove in to this hobby was this real hunger for new challenges. Many things are apart of your very being. You just wonder through, occasionally feeding this mysterious need but at some time I realized that challenge and a senses of adventure is what drives me daily.

There is anther part of me that has grown as well during this time. That is my Belief in a God who is behind my very destiny an has the ultimate plan that has been laid out from creation for my life. If only I had known, if only we knew that we are continually being guided in one direction or the other.

Teaching has been a great thrill of sharing and learning from others.

Travel has become a creative tool for me and a freedom I could not, in my wildest dream have expected. It has open a whole new world that continually feeds my creative juices.

This is a place in the Teton Mt we camped at. I painted it several years

after I camp there.

It all began in a small town craft shop and the a owner needing to sell her art stock. With all seriousness she said, "The very next person who comes in this shop to by art supplies, (which didn't happen very often), we would approch and ask them to teach us to paint. As good as her word, this lady came in to buy a tube of paint and Margaret was on her. Miss. would you possiblly be interested in teaching both of us to paint. To my suprise she agreeded. Only one problem though, she had only had 5 lessesn. It didn't matter, she taught us one very important thing, the hunger to put on canvas beauty as we saw it.

Well it was like the barn door was thrown open and the cow was out of the barn. After a few years of going from one teacher to another my friend not only sold her art supplies but began to teach (greatest way to learn is teach what you are trying to learn). I was right behind her learning with her and from her.

http://http//1947kjones.googlepages.com/home