That creative chick, Susan Sorrell, teaches online!

I first saw Susan Sorrell's work on Etsy, several months ago. Immediately, I found myself drawn to it. Then, when I first started Fiber Focus, I invited her to write an article. She said, "Sure, I'll try." No word. Several weeks passed and a friend invited me to join Fiber Arts/Mixed Media, a social network, in fact, a very cool group. Guess who started it? Yep, that creative chick, Susan Sorrell. I joined and then decided to form my own, more informal network, as a companion to this blog, Fiber Focus, the group. Some time passed and then I got this e-mail announcing that Susan was teaching online classes. Huh? How does that work? I e-mailed her again and asked her to explain it in an article for this blog. Which she did. Scroll down. It's below...

STOP!
First you have to look at some of this woman's work. Let's take a look at some of her sermons (Click on images for a larger picture):





Take the time to ingest the message. Susan is a Southerner (that's the lower half of the United States). Preaching is a Southern thing. As a pastor's daughter I am drawn to it, especially if it makes you think twice and is full of color and bead work. About 20 years ago I was managing an artisan's co-op in Chicago. I was sick of the traffic, or all the "issues" and decided to go on a pilgrimage. I went to Howard Finster's Paradise Garden, in Georgia. He was still alive, but barely. He was a preacher who got zapped by God and started painting. Susan definitely got zapped by something and spews out paintings and textiles. She obviously has a message. In her words, this is it:

Who Is SuSan SoRrELL???

With a needle and thread I will turn the art world on its ear.

I raise abandoned beads that people have discarded in thrift stores.

I color outside the lines….and do it with permanent markers.

I like the color red, because it is obnoxious, vibrant and loud.

Fiber art is not something you eat for breakfast….you hang it on your wall.

I am inspired by lots of artists and creative people…living and dead.

I pull my ideas out of the air like a magician.

I have a college degree in Visual Arts, so that makes me know less about how not to save money.

All my clothes are from Old Navy and have paint stains on them.

I am an artist…..watch me paint the world clueless.


Much of her work shows women or portraits challenging the world up front. Look at me in the eyes!



So what do you think? Can you learn something from this woman? I happen to LOVE her work, but maybe you think it's too busy, too cluttered, to full of something. Still, don't you think she could help free up that wild woman (or unlikely man) inside of you? Don't you think it could be worth a $60 or so investment to find out what demons (or unlikely angels) might be released? This is where the classes come in. Here is what she wrote:

Online Classes??

by SuSan SoRreLL

That is what people say to me when they ask me what I do for a living. First I have to explain to them what a Fiber Artist is and then how I teach classes over the Internet. “This is the wave of the future and pretty soon you will be able to do all types of classes on the web”, I tell them. People that have grown up with a computer see this a future trend, but people around my age….44….are still leery about the computer and a hacker stealing their ID. My great aunt, who is 91, just can’t get over the fact that I am making a living as an artist, plus this computer monster that has taken over the world. But now, computers are getting so simple to use that several years ago I was approached to design a Fiber Collage class for an online website. Now, I have a Masters in Art Education and had taught for 12 years in the public school system, so I saw this as an excellent opportunity not to waste this expensive diploma hanging on my wall.

Online art classes come in 2 categories, Projects and Creative Learning, in my opinion. Some classes that you can take will show you how to make a project, so you end up with the teacher’s example. (To me that is like coloring in a coloring book or following a dress pattern) The 2nd category is what I like to call Creative Learning. This is how I was trained to become an art teacher…to help the students think out of the box and try new techniques. I write my lessons like I would like a lesson plan in a classroom and shoot a lot of photos to go along with the lessons. Keeping it simple and using a lot of visuals is the way I like to do my workshops. I guess I write the lesson as if I was going to take it. I have taken many online classes and the teachers are really creative, but their lessons are wordy and don’t make sense. So, you will encounter a lot of different teaching styles out there, like you would in a classroom.

The Pros in taking an online class is you can do it on your time schedule. You don’t have to waste gas and drive anywhere. You don’t have to drag around all of your art supplies, they are right there in your studio. You can download the lessons and you have a mini book to keep of the class. You meet other students from all over the world and see how they interpret the lesson. You can experiment without feeling like you have to make your project perfect, so there is no pressure. The cost of the workshops cannot be beat!! I charge around 60.00 for a 6 weeks workshop and if I had to teach it in person I would have to charge around 350.00 a student.

Yes there are some Cons to taking an online class. No immediate feedback from your teacher and other students. No one on one, in person learning while you are working on your project. That is the biggest Con and there probably are several more, but I can’t think of any.

How I teach my online class is everyone in the class are given a password to an online forum and you can download the lesson from the forum. The forum is there for students to share, ask questions, and make comments about each lesson. I download the photos that are in the lesson, that way you can get a clear picture of what I am demonstrating. Plus, in the future I am working on having videos accompany my classes. The forum isn’t in real time, since there are students from all over world in different time zones. But if there is a new way for me to communicate with my students, I will find it. I am really big on the learning experience and want to make it a positive experience with all of the students. When the class ends, I have a Yahoo group and Flickr.com groups set up for everyone to keep sharing their work. Just because the 6 weeks might be over, doesn’t mean I am not there to help.

If you are considering on taking an online class, choose something that really interest you and you will be more apt to do the lessons. You need some motivation, but it is a really inexpensive way to try out new crafts and meet wonderful people.

Hope to see you online!!
Susan Sorrell
www.creativechick.com

I'm not going to list all the classes because I have a feeling this is a post that will be searched often. Here is the link info:

Creative Chick Studios-Online classes:
http://www.creativechick.com/classes.html

I wish I could let Susan unleash the demons/angels inside of me... Let me make this clear, though. I've never met the woman, have had very little contact with her, but all I know is that if an artist's soul speaks through their work, then that creative chick, Susan, is someone I like. I mean, look at how she ends her e-mails: "Laugh, Love and do the Hokie Pokie" I can't dance and have no clue what the hokie pokie looks like, but if I could and I did, I think I would want to try it out with her.

Disclaimer done, I need to add one more thing. Susan joined the little itsy-bitsy network I started, Fiber Focus, the group! Hubba, hubba, try-very-hard-to-dance-something! I have a good feeling that we will get to know each other better over time. A cyber-relationship I look forward to! (OK, I'll let you know if it turns into a nightmare, chuckle, chuckle...)


Now, to her links. The woman is all over the place! I've been spending a lot of time trying to learn this blogging/networking thing (with the supposed goal of promoting my store on Etsy, ha!) and there she is... I've given you some active links above, but here are more that you will have to cut and paste in your browser:

Http://www.myspace.com/creativechicksc
Blog: www.chatterbox.creativechick.com
Studio: http://www.littlehouseartstudios.com
Shop: http://creativechick.etsy.com/
www.cafepress.com/creativechick

The weirdest and funniest?
Need to get hitched quick? www.weddingsinaflash.com

Definitely an entrepreneurial woman! I will study her closely...
Following you will find her bio, but I just need to say one more thing. It's been like pulling teeth to get people to leave comments on this blog. I have no clue why. Traffic is growing and people spend an average of 5 minutes here, so that means interest is being captured. But, I look at other blogs and they have 26 or 52 comments. Why? I have no clue. But, here is something that might tweak your interest.......... Ask Susan (lowering voice to a whispered tone) about the Bigfoot sightings in her area. Let's see what answers she comes up with....


Susan Sorrell has always had a “wild imagination” growing up. Traveling all over the world with her father’s job, she has had to entertain herself with all kinds of arts and crafts. She didn’t become serious about art, until she made it her major at Winthrop University. Earning a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Design, Susan worked for a short time as a graphic artist, then decided to get her Masters in Education at Converse College, to teach art. Being around children was a great way to get her creative juices flowing, so she quit after 12 years and became a full time artist. Susan calls herself a “mixed media” artist, since she likes to dabble in a lot of different medias. She has been working with textiles since 1998 and hasn’t tired of it yet. Combining painting, sewing, beading and embellishing on fabric has opened new avenues to express her self. Her pieces are whimsical, colorful and have a personal theme. Susan likes to draw her inspirations from her life and what is happening in the world. Her recent series of work, “Southern Fried Fiber” is inspired by her “Southern” roots. Susan lives in Greenville, South Carolina,USA. To view more of Susan Sorrell work visit her website www.creativechick.com.

That creative chick, Susan Sorrell, teaches online!