Thoughts From Marsha

I am writing this blog post mainly to let local artists, beginners and more advanced, know how much I enjoy teaching private lessons. Mostly these lessons are one student at a time. I want you to know if you have a small group ... like 2, 3 or 4 friends you enjoy learning with, I am interested in this type of "private group" lessons.

I've taught art for a long time!

I have been teaching art lessons for many years, starting with a weekly pastel class near Smyrna GA  at the Mable House (Mableton, GA) many years ago. I also have taught workshops for many years local and regionally, along with around this beautiful country of ours when art organizations or groups of artists contracted me to do so.

I moved from there to teaching at a gallery in Smyrna, Concord Gallery. I started using this gallery / frame shop near the beginning of my art journey. It moved from a small older house, to a retail spot in downtown Smyrna, and then moved again back to Concord Road in a different older home just off S. Cobb Drive. The gallery / frame shop went through three owners during this time... all wonderful people and friends.

At a point, it became obvious I needed more room for my class, so I moved to the Smyrna Community Center and contracted for a room on specific dates. They were sort of weekly classes, both an evening class, and then adding in a morning class. I put out the schedule of what weeks we would meet trying to adhere to "weekly" as close as I could. I did break the fee up into purchase of six weeks at a time. It worked for a very long time! I had about 10 - 12 students during the last 15 years that stayed with me. We became a big family! It was wonderful.

In 2010, we moved back to Smyrna, which would have made those weekly classes much easier, but I decided I wanted to teach private lessons at my home studio instead. I decided to stop the "weekly" lessons! Be assured, I do still teach workshops when I can in various places. One of those places is Blue Ridge, GA, besides our local art associations when they need a workshop!

The image you see to the right is my studio, which has been rearranged since the photo was taken, but it is a lot of stuff in there. I have several easels that stay in place either for students, or for me to put "unfinished" works to rest while I work on another one.

The Point of This Blog?

The question you saw as the title ... are you interested in lessons. Either privately for yourself, or maybe a very small group of friends that have bonded by painting together and love discussing the ins and outs of how you create and how you become a professional artist.

Now, you can be a "hobby" artist and want to learn. I love teaching students to paint for themselves and not for marketing! The point of being an artist is to enjoy your creativity in some way, and enjoy the journey of being an artist. I am always saying, "It's the journey, not the destination." I also enjoy being a mentor for those artists that have much higher marketing aspirations.

One big deal ... you do not have to come every week! I mention quite often, you need time to paint, or play, on your own and make mistakes. You do not need to only paint when you are with a teacher!

Contact me by email if you are interested in learning more about my teaching and we can discuss something that works for you. My email is "[email protected]" and I hope to hear from you!