Life Book 2020 The Tam Edition

Lesson projects & themes:

• Releasing Fears & Welcoming in the New – A Guided Meditation that is designed to help you release fears and welcome in ‘the new’.
• Art Bites for Beginners + Intro to Colour Theory – especially for people who are fairly new to ‘art making’ and want to learn more about some of the supplies we use on Life Book and it also includes an introduction to “colour theory”.
• Awakening Your Creativity – In this lesson, I hope to address some of your fears (we’ll write them all down!) and I encourage you to be present to your feelings (whatever they are). I also want to get you warmed up by sharing some easy layering techniques with you. It’s all about playing, learning, exploring and enjoying your journey. In this lesson, no drawing is required!
• Angels are Always with You – In this lesson we will create 2 front facing characters (1 with closed eyes) on a layered mixed media background. The main character is an ‘angel’ (or a divine being of some sorts) who lovingly has her wing around a sleeping child. The angel represents a character who is ‘always with you’. The idea is that you can call upon this character throughout the year for empathy, compassion, understanding and compassion. You can also call upon this character to help fulfil any dreams you might have. The child represents our ‘inner child’, which is often the part of us that needs protection, love and care. This project is suitable for all skill-levels. It is a more in depth project but all the steps are clearly laid out so that all skill levels can follow the lesson.
• What if You Fly? – In this bonus session we create a front facing mixed media butterfly girl and, as an extra bonus, we are going to also create a, mandala type, Zen Butterfly.
• Cultivating Creative Courage – In this bonus chat, I talk about how to cultivate ‘creative courage’ or the ‘courage to “fail”‘. If you can manage to do this, well it’s half the work done! So if you’re feeling disappointed with your art work, don’t quit! (Many people do but this is exactly NOT the time to quit!). You can do this, I believe in you!
• Party Time! – We will be drawing a “lollipop girl” who is in “party time” mode because she is giving thanks to all the things she is grateful for in her life! It’s a happy uplifting painting for sure! :) We are also going to look at ‘gratitude’ and how a gratitude exercise can be helpful in our lives. The final painting with celebrate and express gratitude for things, people, experiences you are grateful for in your life!
• Favourite Things – In this bonus lesson we are appreciating the little(r) things in our lives that we might sometimes forget or take for granted by doing some art work ‘from life’ and also I’m throwing some ‘whimsical urban sketching’ in there too.
• Seeds of Love – Extra for Life Book 2020 – This lesson was first published in February 2015 as part of Life Book 2015. I’m including a video on ‘value contrast’ and a deepener on colour theory.
• The Largest Heart – We will create a whimsical giraffe in (mostly) watercolours and we will focus on honouring our feelings/ inner experiences and grounding into the now and our bodies.
• Giraffe Love – We are going to make a ‘collage & paint’ giraffe in this bonus lesson. I’m introducing you to a different way to ‘build’ a painting here with a bit more emphasis on the role collage can play in a painting.
• Honouring & Grounding Guided Meditation – An Honouring & Grounding Guided Meditation that can help you ground into the present moment and in your body. It’s also created to help you honour any feelings/ thoughts, needs and experiences that are currently alive or present in you, both the negative and the positive.
• You are The Light – We create a high contrast portrait of a girl, mostly working with watercolour paints.
  This lesson also includes an ‘Intentional Honouring of Your Story Ceremony’.
• Turn A Little Into a Lot – Bonus! – In this class I show you how you can make a lovely little portrait with ONLY 8 art supplies! It’s a great class to do for when you only have a few supplies available or if you’re on the couch (not by your art desk) or on holiday.

While Life Book 2020 is still running, new lessons by Tam will be added to this class as they are released in Life Book 2020.