Hello everyone!

I have some wonderful & exciting news! I am going to be teaching on Life Book 2017 next year ... YEEHAW! I am tickled pink to be joining this wonderful community of creative explorers as a teacher.

And even MORE exciting news is that I can give away 1 space on this amazing year long art course! Keep reading if you want to find out more about Life Book 2017 and if you want to find out how you can win a spot.

First let me tell you a bit more about Life Book in case you haven't heard about it yet.

“Life Book, a celebration and honouring of YOU” is a year-long mixed media art class organised by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts.

Tam is joined by 22 incredible art teachers who are all gearing up to share their mixed media (and other) techniques, tips and tricks with YOU! Themed around self-development and healing, you’ll be creating several loose mixed media art journal pages per month which by the end of the year you will bind into a glorious journal (a Life Book)! You will have a wonderful keepsake that you can treasure for the rest of your life!

You can find out a lot more about this wildly popular course (it has been joined by over 12500+ people in the past!) by clicking HERE.
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I haven't fully developed my class idea yet ... there are so many MAGICAL possibilities, but here are some examples of my acrylic work that I'm considering working into a journal adventure to take with you. These are all about colour, water, personal meaning and freedom of expression ... and I can hardly wait to share this class with you!

(If you'd like to see more of my journal style click here to see my 2012 journal, done mostly in watercolour.)

Registration opens on October 3rd 2016 and the class begins on January 1st 2017.

So if you want to start the year with a fabulous creative BANG and spend 2017 with a wonderful
creative community of like-minded souls, learning more about art and how to be kinder and more
loving towards yourself, be sure to join once registration opens! :) Keep this page bookmarked so that you can sign up the moment it goes on sale! :)

Now then, onto the give-away and blog hop! :) I can give away 1 space on Life Book 2017 to 1
lucky winner, yay! :) And if you follow the blog hop (see below for links and dates) you can up your
chances of winning a space by entering all the other give-aways also! :)

How to enter the give-away:

1.  Sign up to my newsletter click here, and
2. Leave a comment below letting me know why you would love to join Life Book 2017.

You must do BOTH these things to be eligible. Entries will close at midnight Atlantic Time on September 27th and I will announce the winner via a special email newsletter on September 28th.

Here is the list of the other amazing teachers who will be teaching on Life Book – they too will be
giving away a spot on Life Book so go check them out and enter their give-aways! :)

Date Artist/Teacher Date
5th September 2016 Tamara Laporte http://www.willowing.org/blog/
6th September 2016 Jodi Ohl http://sweetrepeats.blogspot.com
7th September 2016 Susana Tavares http://ateliersusanatavares.blogspot.com
8th September 2016 France Papillon http://www.france-papillon.com/blog
9th September 2016 Shelley Klammer http://intuitivecreativity.typepad.com/
10th September 2016 Amber Kuileimailani Bonnici http://www.theradiantmama.com/
11th September 2016 Donna Mulholland http://www.donnamulhollandstudio.com/blog
12th September 2016 Mandy van Goeije https://www.mandyvangoeije.com/blog/
13th September 2016 Jennifer Mercede http://www.jennifermercede.com/blog/
14th September 2016 Misty Mawn http://www.mistymawnart.com/blog/
15th September 2016 Gwenn Seemel http://www.gwennseemel.com/blog
16th September 2016 Melissa Dinwiddie http://melissadinwiddie.com/blog
17th September 2016 Vicky Papaioannou http://www.clips-n-cuts.com/
18th September 2016 Lindsay Weirich https://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/
19th September 2016 Julie Fei-Fan Balzer http://balzerdesigns.typepad.com/balzer_designs/
20th September 2016 Effy Wild http://effybird.com/
21st September 2016 Wendy Brightbill https://agirlandherbrush.wordpress.com/
22nd September 2016 Jamie Dougherty http://jamiedoughertydesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/bloghop-
post.html
23rd September 2016 Andrea Gomoll http://andrea-gomoll.de/blog/
24th September 2016 Whitney Freya http://www.whitneyfreya.com/blog
25th September 2016 Annie Hamman http://www.anniehamman.com/blog/
26th September 2016 Connie Solera http://www.dirtyfootprints-studio.com/blog
27th September 2016 Leilani Joy https://www.youtube.com/MissLeilaniJoy

Have a great time following the blog hop! :)
xoxo

Donna

​I used to be offended by folks who would come in to my studio and declare loudly “I just don’t get abstract art!” Then there were the people who would stand on the doorstep and peek their heads in, their eyes widening in confusion upon realizing there were no paintings of horses, traditional landscapes or barns (oh, the horror!), and then turn on their tails and get out of there as quickly as possible. Of course, the reality is that not everyone is going to love my art, the same as I have my own art preferences, and that is perfectly okay and as it should be.
 
But it does seem that there is a lot of unnecessary fear and confusion out there about abstract and non-objective art. It seems to make people feel uncomfortable. They feel like they are not “getting” something when they look at. That’s a yucky spot to be in, sort of like having to try on bathing suits in front of a mirror at a store; especially in a store where the sales lady keeps asking you questions and you’re afraid she’s going to barge in. Goodness knows, that is not my favourite situation. I only try on bathing suits when I really have to. I don’t want you to feel like that looking at my art ... or any art. So this week, I offer you a list of ten ways to look at abstract and non-objective art. I hope it will make looking at art easier and more fun for y’all.

If there's something else you'd add to the list, please comment below.
 
Have a great week!
 
PS There’s lots coming in September starting with a big announcement on Monday, September 5th! Watch my Facebook and Instagram for that.
 
PSS To stay up to date, sign up for my newsletter here.

​PSSS Need a long weekend treat? The online shop is open 24/7! Click here.