I guess it all started in 1985. While I was working in Zurich for a summer, I got to visit the Verzasca Valley in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. It was breathtaking–the landscape, the color of the water, the fireflies, the lightning off in the distance. In 2000, I returned with my friend Weslee, whose family emigrated from that area. I was looking forward to showing her the beauty of the area. Mother nature had other plans. She saw rain, rain, and more rain. In a gallery at the end of the valley, I found a book of sketches and photographs created by Richard Wagner of Cologne, Germany. Wow!
He captured the essence of the valley in just a few words, photographs and watercolor sketches. This little book has been my inspiration for travel photos ever since. Shoot the requisite tourist photos, but take the time to capture some of the details. Eleven years, and numerous drawing classes later, I’ve finally decided to add watercolor to my box of tools. Spare time is precious at the moment, so when Jane Lafazio announced her online class Sketchbook & Watercolor: On Location through joggles.com. I had to give it a try. One of the great things about online classes is that you can “attend” the class anytime you like—even my preferred time of 11 p.m. Since Pixeladies teach online classes (click here for more info), it’s also interesting to see how others use the technology to teach. I love the class. I love the interaction between the students. We probably learn just as much from seeing each other’s drawings and asking questions. And I’m intending no disrespect to Jane. She has created wonderful handouts and lessons for us. Here are my sketches for lesson 2—the coffee shop (Yes, I’m one of those “bad” students who doesn’t follow directions. Not being a coffee drinker, a noodle shop for lunch was my choice.)
4 responses to “Inspiration and Online Classes”
I too am one of those who doesn’t quite follow directions (ahem!)….and am also really enjoying the class. One of the reasons I took the class through Joggles is that, having taken classes at a couple of the “biggies” and a couple of independents, I have found that active student participation is key. The larger the number of students (what happens at the large online education sites like Joggles and Quilt University) the more active students there will be –most students tend to lurk (with exceptions of course, took one private online class with 11 students and thanks to 4 active ones it was great), and therefore the more useful the class is to me! See you in class, Sarah
wonderful work Deb, so glad you joined the class! and I couldn’t agree more about learning from your fellow students! I love the community of the real classroom and I work hard to build a similar community online–and thanks to folks like you, it works! xoxo
wonderful work Deb, so glad you joined the class! and I couldn’t agree more about learning from your fellow students! I love the community of the real classroom and I work hard to build a similar community online–and thanks to folks like you, it works! xoxo
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