Exploring the 5 Senses

Super excited, not only is today the first day of Pika Bootcamp 2 where I get to share and connect with a whole new group of online artists, illustrators and creative types! I'm also announcing my new Winter Art Course: Exploring the 5 Senses is now open for enrollment!! Woot woot belly smack! A 5 week online art course exploring the 5 senses through 2D visual art starting Nov 15th. Although it's just me teaching this course both Amy of Pikaland AND my husband Tom will be stopping by for guest critiques, providing lots of valuable feedback for your work! Thrilled to have an exciting course available for those interested in keeping the creative fires burning this Winter and who want to create, connect, and share some really great art and ideas! Find out more about the course and enroll here! (Including an early bird discount for those who enroll now ;D) Plus Chick will be along for the ride, to taste, touch, smell, sense every work of art along the way, he's way in touch with his intuitive side, comes from living close to nature and eating lots of meatballs! I hope you'll join us this Winter!

Chick Lit

Today is the first post of a new series over at Chick Likes Meatball entitled Chick Lit, a place for artists/bloggers to share their favorite children's book with Chick! Excited to have Amy of Pikaland as our first contributor- stop by and check it out!!

Ps find out more about sharing your favorite children's book with Chick here

things on my desk

desk edge, originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

On our way out the door to the DMV, wish us luck! Although I don't think it will take us 900 and something times to re-new our drivers license, like the women recently featured in the NY times... although it could take 900 hours of waiting ack!
In the meantime check out my article for Pikaland today, D.I.Y. Art Kits

Special Giveaway @Pikaland!

* start date: Sept. 5th, 2010

Our fall courses @Pikaland are just around the corner (starting September 5th!!) If you haven't stopped by and checked out our new classes which include the second installment of Making Your Mark AND a course in Visual Journaling do so now! The courses are full of inspiration and ideas to get you creating!
Here's a sneak peek from our Visual Journaling Class:

"Often one on the largest obstacles to overcome when creating a story or plot or new work of art is the need to pre-think the story rather than letting it have an organic origin. Sometimes this puts the brakes on it completely! Nothing happens because you put too much pressure on the work looking completely as you see it in your minds eye, you intimidate yourself with your left brain way of thinking! It's as if you're seeing Mt. Everest as a 29,000 ft tall mountain instead of a series of single steps that happen in an instant and organically. A mountain is intimidating, the steps aren't! First graders don't have this mountain view, children very rarely experience the un-doable (unless an adult instills it in them!). Children attempt things, they learn, they fall down and stand up. For this first weeks assignment we will silence the fearful adult and invite the adventurous child! Discovering new ways of operating and finding out what might be hidden within your left brain adult self!"

Find out more about this course @Pikaland and ENTER TO WIN A SPOT IN A CLASS OF YOUR CHOOSING!

Throw out yer belt and buy elastic pants!

Summer Movie Haus is here!! In collaboration with Miss Amy of Pikaland our first Movie Haus course is now open for enrollment! Be inspired by the movies this summer and make new work! Find out more @Pikaland and check out our complete list of new fall courses here!

Your teachers from Pika Bootcamp

Pika Bootcamp Part 2 is getting ready to commence, unibrows firmly in place! Give us a grunt and a chug for Team unibrow! All the thinking and critiquing made our eyebrows grow together. By the end of the next course we'll have full grown beards!

Present but not accounted for

originally uploaded by jamieshelman.

I've been crazy busy teaching Pikaland Bootcamp (If you're visiting from my course HELLO! and Welcome! I'm having a blast looking at and critiquing art with all of you!) In the meantime the Tour de Suisse has commenced (with an incredible crash today moments before the finish- check it out 2010 Tour de Suisse Stage 4 crash). 

Flag day has come and gone. 

I've been looking at Dutch tea pots...

pink cuckoo clocks...

image source by FeeMail

smiling books...

image source by miekewillems

side braids...

image source by kate / for me, for you

and Warhol's poppies

image source by Maddie M.

Our rest day was spent at the Battle of Gettysburg, (Tom's sisters farm) changing the oil and struggling with a squeaky suspension link on our trusty war horse (aka Maserati) Lily. We rode gallantly through the battle with Lily never once failing us, dodging many a bullet, and in the end succeeding, taking the high ground with an oil change and finely tuned suspension easily in hand.

I'm only just beginning to come up for air with an evenings revival in the garden of Eden (aka Oregon Ridge Nature Center and a whole Old Bay glazed chicken and box full of cinnabons later- feelin fine!)

on my way to a speedy recovery and back to blogger bliss!

Top secret projects

I've been working on a number of top secret projects and am excited to announce my collaboration with Miss Amy of Pikaland to introduce our first ever Pikaland Bootcamp! Structured into two online courses (beginning June 1st) with weekly assignments aimed at making your best art and how to successfully promote it online! We've been hard at work for the last several months gathering images, source material and examples from across the web that best demonstrate what makes an art work strong to how to best photograph and promote your work online! With weekly one-on-one critiques by both Amy and myself, our Pikaland Bootcamp is aimed at making your artwork and online presence shine! Find out more about each course here. Our first course Making Your Mark begins June 1st! 

(We've decided to keep class space limited, so be sure to sign up early to reserve a spot!)

Giveaways!

Riding in the rain

Giveaway alert! There's not just one but TWO giveaways of my work happening this week over at Pikaland and Bliss

Stop by and check it out! A huge thanks to Amy and Mrs. French for hosting my work on their beautific blogs!

And if you haven't entered the giveaway below for Stephanie's awesome Cat Ornaments do so now!

Rainy day cats

Although it's not currently raining (but snowing instead!) I love drawing cats in the rain. Thanks to Amy for posting me on her great illustration blog Pikaland. Here's a brief look at some of my little cats taking a walk in the rain (avec parapluie)...



if you'd like to purchase any of these drawings visit my etsy shop Jamie's Cats! Simple, elegant, happy cats.