Line Drawings, Pasta Making, and More Creative Fun

I’m naturally creative as an artist. That’s probably a given. But I’m not an artist who likes keeping my creativity locked up and not sharing it with anyone. I love teaching others how to unlock their creativity. I don’t think creativity belongs to artists alone. I truly believe everyone is creative.

You don’t need all the art supplies in the world to make things.

You don’t need to have tubes upon tubes of paint, gallery wrapped canvases as tall as you are, or a million paintbrushes. You just need a pen and a piece of paper, or your phone, or some ingredients. It’s less about the supplies you have and more about tapping into your imagination. If you never give it a fair shot, and never even attempt unlock your creativity, you’ll probably be telling yourself you’re not creative for the rest of your life.

Being that I full-heartedly believe everyone is creative, no matter how that creativity presents itself, I was pumped when Guest House Shop asked me to partner with them, and teach some creative classes. Guest House creates shoppable homes using goods from local Denver area makers. I love what they do. All of the homes they stage are for sale and are incredible. Then, to top it off they stage and curate each home that’s for sale with gorgeous local goods. It’s a win-win for everyone. Unfortunately with the COVID-19 pandemic going on, they’ve had to put a hold on their shoppable homes. They quickly pivoted, while keeping their makers in mind by creating Guest House University.

Guest House University is filled with classes by artists like me teaching you a variety of skills. Some creative, some organizational, some business-related, and so on. I love this because people sometimes have the notion that artists only create, and that’s truly the only thing they do. But I’m dynamic dammit! I am obsessed with art, but my interests extend further than just that. These classes give you a little glimpse into the lives of the creators on the Guest House platform, and skills they have besides just creating….all while teaching you something new!

I chose to teach a simple, continuous line drawing class.

Even though most of my paintings are abstract, creating art from observation makes artists better at their craft, and can teach people who “can’t even draw a stick figure” how to “see.” It’s a fantastic practice for artists to do, no matter what your medium is. Admittedly, I have been slacking in this practice, so what better way for me to get back into it than teaching someone else how to do it? It was a nice challenge because as an artist, visuals are more of my strong suit than words. Articulating why I’m drawing this line, and that curve, is tough! But I’m always up for challenging myself.

If you have a piece of paper and a pen, hop on over to my short continuous line drawing class.

You might do it and hate it. Maybe drawing isn’t for you. That’s ok! Keep trying different paths of creativity. Sure, I taught an art-centered class for Guest House, but I have more interests than just art. Like cooking. I LOVE making meals. And I hadn’t really discovered that until a few years ago. I knew I loved food, trying new things, and going out to eat. But I didn’t know that would translate into me wanting to be on the other end of things, in the kitchen, cooking. I only discovered I liked the cooking part after I simply tried it and gave it a fair chance.

That leads me to the second class I taught with Guest House…

Pasta making! A few years ago, I would have never thought I was skilled or knowledgable enough to jump on Insta Live and teach anyone how to make pasta. But that’s the whole point I’m trying to make. You don’t know what creative talents you have until you just give it a shot. I love cooking and painting because it’s messy, fun, and it makes something beautiful (hopefully) when I’m done.

I encourage everyone to dive into some sort of creative hobby. Especially right now. It might not be one of my classes, and that’s perfectly fine. You can probably tell how passionate I am about everyone learning what they enjoy doing creatively because I post a lot about it. Like here

And even though I’m an artist, I’m not an expert on all of the different artistic mediums. I’m still learning new creative skills and experimenting. And I hope that never stops!

My go-to place for learning new creative skills is Skillshare.

I highly recommend this platform, as it has just about all the creative classes you could ever want to take. When my friends asked me how to do acrylic pouring, or draw a ballerina (both real and recent questions) I just referred them here because I didn’t have the answers. Hop on over there, especially now that they are offering 30% off an annual membership. I have not seen a deal like that since I’ve been a member, so I would take advantage and unleash your creativity now!