New Class!

Hello friends!

How is your week going? I hope you've had some small, or even BIG victories to celebrate. There has been so much going on in our little corner of the world that my head has almost literally been spinning these past few weeks. 

My boys starting middle school (HOW did that happen?!), one of my busiest times of the year at work, and keeping up with usual life stuff like we all have. But in the midst of all of this craziness there is much to celebrate, including the launching of my fourth class with Big Picture Classes, Fantastic Digital Florals!

I can hardly believe this is my fourth class with BPC, and being asked to teach another iPad drawing class has been like a dream. I had no idea how the iPad would change everything for my drawing career, and now I want to share all of the fun tips and tricks I've learned this past year with you!

This class focuses on the basics of drawing floral shapes in Procreate, one of my favorite things to draw. Flowers can be challenging though, so I hope this class can take some of the anxiety out of the process. 

I'd love for you to join me! 

And if you want to dive into lettering in Procreate, be sure to also check out my Master Class, Mastering iPad Lettering!

Sending you all of the good Tuesday vibes!

XO,

New Local Class

Hey there friends!

Who wants to come paint with me? On July 14th I'll be teaching a super fun mixed media art class at the Richmond Art Museum!

We'll create with paint and all sorts of other fun mixed media supplies to create one of a kind art pieces. 

Check out the class here

If you are local or nearby to Richmond, Indiana I'd love for you to join me!

XO,

New Class!

Have you ever been given an opportunity that is so in line with your biggest goals and dreams that you start to doubt yourself?

Those annoying internal questions start chiming in, "Why did they choose me?" "Surely there is someone more talented to do this!"

(Helloooo imposter syndrome!)

You know what? Yes, there probably is someone more talented than you. There is always going to be someone ahead of you. 

And still, the opportunity belongs to YOU! 

IT IS YOURS. 

End of story. 

So take it all in, throw all of the thank you's you can out into the universe, and rock the sh*t out of it.

YOU GOT THIS.

If you want an example of my latest version of this story, head over to Big Picture Classes on May 1st to check out my newest class with them, Mastering iPad Lettering! Seriously...we are going to have SO much fun lettering on our iPads!

You can check out my teacher page here--->

https://www.bigpictureclasses.com/users/mandyfordart

Hope you have a fantastic Thursday! 

Join me for a new class!

Hello friends! Happy Wednesday!

I hope your week is going well so far. 

I have some BIG news to share with you! If you follow me on social media, you may have already seen this yesterday, but if not...

My new class, Doodling Nature, is up on the Big Picture Classes website! Woot! 

This is my first class with them, and in October my second class, focused on lettering (!!!), will launch.

I would love to have you join me for this class! We'll be doodling all of my favorite nature shapes, adding fun details to them, and even creating a full page art piece. It is going to be fun, friends!

Back in May, their videographer, Joe, came to our house and filmed both of the classes, as well as this really wonderful intro video, which made my eyes water a bit...

A few months back, a sweet and super talented guy named Joe (@joe_gomez) showed up at my doorstep with fancy camera equipment, and filmed two drawing classes I'll be teaching online with @bigpictureclasses. The whole experience so far has been so encouraging and exciting. My first class, Doodling Nature, is up on their website, along with what might be one of my favorite things that's happened so far in my art career, this short intro video he put together. I'll admit it made me cry a little. Feeling thankful today. ❤️ I would love to have you join me for this class - the link to check it out is in my profile! My second class, focused on handlettering, will launch in October!

A post shared by Mandy Ford Art & Illustration (@mandyfordart) on Aug 22, 2017 at 3:11pm PDT

This has been such a fun process and I can't wait to dive in with my students! 

Sending happy Wednesday vibes to you,

Lovely Things

You guys. I'm feeling really blissed out after this weekend. 

It has been a lovely mix of crazy big art dream time and super sweet and fun family time.

On Saturday morning, I enjoyed a bit of quiet coffee time before the rest of the house was up...

And then I welcomed a new friend into our house to film two drawing classes for me. 

The classes will be online with Big Picture Classes, which is a subscription class site for the creative and crafty.

I'm OVER THE MOON about being invited to teach for them. I've been pinching myself over the entire thing. 

And then when they said they were going to send their guy to film me?! Who's life is this?

I mean look at his awesome set up there right on my little art table. 

I'm not gonna lie...I was SUPER anxious about this whole shebang.

But Joe, their videographer, was so sweet and encouraging and made the whole process SO much easier than I expected it to be. 

AND we bonded over a mutual love for all things You've Got Mail. I mean...what are the odds? I told him that I have always secretly wanted to be Kathleen Kelly, who he said is the perfect mix of organized and whimsical. Yep...maybe that's why I want to be just like her. 

I can't wait to share more about these classes with you once the teasers are up online and they are ready for registration. I hope you all love them! 

Today we had a slow morning and I got in some pattern making time...

This week's challenge for my Pattern Camp group was Mexican folk art, so these are my take on folk art flowers. Had a lot of fun with these!

We also took the boys to see the new Captain Underpants movie. So funny and the perfect 9 year old boy movie. I had more fun watching the boys' faces as they reacted to the movie than watching the big screen! 

This was certainly a weekend for my highlight reel, and I'm so thankful for the balance of exciting out-of-my-comfortable-box things and relaxing family time. 

Nothing keeps you in check like some good poop jokes after your class filming debut! ;)

Hope you've had a wonderful weekend friends!

XO,

{come learn with me!}

It is so funny how life brings you opportunities that are the furthest from what you see yourself doing. 

Like me TEACHING.

Yep...not something this homebody introvert ever saw herself doing. But here I am, adding a "Classes" page to my website, teaching on Skillshare, and now I'm teaching another local class!

This summer I taught doodling to kiddos at Veach's Toy Station which was so much fun and also helped me get my feet wet in the realm of face to face teaching. 

A local friend who's children took my class, and who also teaches amazing Creativity Camp classes out of her barn (yes...barn!)...invited me to teach a class with her this fall. You all I'm over the moon excited about this, and I hope if you are local you can join us!

We'll be creating a glass mosaic frame, and then I'll be leading students in a doodling exercise to create a piece of art for their frame. 

You can reserve your spot here! Class is limited to 20 participants. 

And if you aren't local, I would love to have you join me over on Skillshare for my doodling class. Here are some fabulous projects from my students...

Aren't they amazing? I just love sharing doodling with you all...it brings so much joy to the world don't you think?

If you have any ideas for other classes you would like to see me teach please leave them in the comments!

XO,

{new doodling class!}

Hello friends and happy weekend!

I have some exciting news to share with you today!

I am teaching my first class on Skillshare, Create Your Own Crazy Doodle!

Here is a peek at the project we'll be creating...

I started making these crazy doodles about a year ago, and they are such a fun way to relax and also practice lots of fun shapes. 

In the class, I'll lead you through drawing some simple doodled shapes, and then we'll connect them all together into the big crazy doodle you see above. 

Wanna join me?

Click here to get started!

If you are new to Skillshare, it is a fabulous platform with a TON of creative classes on just about any topic you could imagine, from design to cooking, knitting to home decor. It is 99 cents for your first three months, so a super low commitment. 

I would love to have you join me!

XO,