One of my favorites: Jen Starr

I was honored to spend a recent day with Jen Starr, artist extraordinaire.

She came to a friend’s store to teach and I, of course, took all three classes. She taught me how to do a photo transfer on canvas (the finished photo is coming soon), as well as working with Dylusions paints and The Crafter’s Workshop stencils. I learned a lot, as I always do when Jen is in town. Not only is she a great instructor, but she is a wonderful person and a great storyteller, too.

In an art journaling class, Jen pushed me WAY out of my comfort zone. She actually MADE me draw, and doodle, and trace … three things I cannot do — despite her excellent instruction.

Compared to hers, my art is awful, but in a way, I kind of like it. I like that I tried something new. And I like that it is bright, colorful and busy. My circles may not be perfect and my lines may not be straight, but I’m not perfect either, so I guess it is OK.

I wanted to share it because I think we often set our standards too high. We compare ourselves to others and try to be like someone else and that just isn’t possible. All of us are not natural artists. All techniques may not come easy to us. But all of us can express ourselves, and have fun, making art.

So, as my friend Wendy Vecchi says, “Make Art!”