Cat-loving artist Jamie Shelman and I have been running a series of online classes since 2010 called the Pikaland Artist Bootcamp, offering feedback and thoughts as we follow along with our students as they complete weekly assignments that were designed to help them think beyond paper (and canvases!)

Our first bootcamp, called Making Your Mark, will begin again on 8 April 2013, and this year’s session will be the last one that Jamie and I will be teaching together. Seats are limited for this class, and this 6-week class is great for artists and illustrators who want to explore their style further and bring refinement, focus, or new ideas to your work. The course is also excellent for those who don’t know how to begin, and need fresh eyes to help guide their art-making – enrollment is now open and you can register here.

This will also be the last session of the Visual Journaling class that I’ll be doing with Jamie too, and it’s for aspiring visual story-tellers. It’s a 5-week class that begins on 10 June 2013 that uses a moleskine as a medium and place to gather images and ideas. It incorporates collage, drawn imagery, words, and photos to create your own narrative. You can register your enrollment here.

While I loved teaching with Jamie and will definitely miss our time together, I felt that the time has come for me to take a step back, to take stock and to regroup. I’ve had a few experiences over the last year that has affected me deeply (there were gut-wrenching times, amazing moments, eye-opening ones, and deeply fulfilling ones); and I’d like to be able to slow down and process them so that I can move forward.

So, if you’ve ever wanted to work with two very opinionated folks with lots of ideas to share on how to bring your art to a whole new level, then this would be your last chance to enroll for Making Your Mark and Visual Journaling – I’d love to see you there!

(note: participants are on a first-come-first-served basis only, so be sure to sign up early to avoid disappointment!)