Altered Diva Online Workshops - A global classroom where EVERY seat is a front-row seat!!

A global classroom where EVERY seat is a front-row seat!!

Welcome to the creative network where artist Karen Gartel will be offering several online workshops. Grab your brushes and let's CREATE!!

Workshops Re-opened!!

Spring is finally here and it seems like a great time to re-open the workshops! I want to thank everyone for your patience and prayers as I have been working through the recent loss of my dad... he was my biggest supporter through my journey as an artist and I have been deeply affected by his death. But life does go on (a bit different than before) and there is art to be made....so let's get down to the fun of creating!!
Karen

Virtual Classrooms

Softly Spoken Workshop

66 members
Heart & Soul Fall Work...

61 members

Mixed Media Landscapes...

53 members
Building a Mystery Wor...

36 members

A Colorful Past Workshop

30 members
Just Junque-It Workshop

20 members

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Class policies, procedures and cancellation policy

*In order to participate in online classes offered by The Altered Diva, you must register here first. You must also pay your class fees before the first class begins.

*You are expected to have basic computer and Internet skills. You need to be able to browse the internet, login to the class group using an ID and password, and know how to download and save a document to your computer's hard drive. It would also be helpful to have either a digital camera or scanner, but it is not manditory. It is your responsibility to learn these skills before the class begins - they are NOT taught as part of the class.

*All course materials are copyrighted by the instructor, Karen Gartel. The course material is not for public distribution under any circumstances. There is a ton of work put into each course, so please respect the intellectual property rights of my materials. Please do not sign up as a group and expect to pay one class fee for several people. I know I have no control over this, but I appreciate your honesty in this matter.

*REFUNDS- If you pre-paid for a class, and you cancel before the class begins you will receive a 100% refund.

NO Refunds will be offered after the start date of any workshop.

Online Class FAQ's

Once you buy the class you will receive an email from Paypal confirming your order. I will contact you within 48 hours with a "virtual hall pass" for your class. In the classroom, you will find a supply list, lessons, and meet fellow classmates. You can start as soon as you are ready! Students can copy lessons onto their own computer or print them out. All of the lessons are yours to keep and you can do anything with them except share them with someone else. These documents take the place of the instructor standing in a room and explaining how to create the project. They’re a narrative with step-by-step instructions, photos, or videos that explain how to get from point A to point B, etc so that eventually once you’ve completed the steps in the final lesson you should have a finished project.
You’re free to work on the project at your convenience. You don’t have to be at your computer at a specific time on a particular day, and it’s the same for working on that week’s part of the project - you do it when you have the time.
If you have questions or want to chat with the other students you can login to the class forums. This is where all of the discussion for the class takes place. It’s totally voluntary – you don’t have to get involved if you don’t want to. The forums are private and only the students for each class and the respective instructor have access.

Questions? Comments? Please email Karen at gartel7@shaw.ca

Heart & Soul Workshop

All my years as an artist I kept telling myself I just couldn't draw portraits....and I believed myself for far too long!! Well, I finally decided to just get over it and try. So what if the eyes were not "perfect", or that she didn't look "real"...I am an artist so I had to TRY!! Needless to say, practice worked and now I have a funky style...kinda personalized to how I draw most things. She is bit whimsical and a touch meloncholy looking...but I proved I COULD do it. Now...why don't YOU try, too!!

Time requirement: 4 -6 hours
Skill Level: ALL Levels
Workshop Fee: $70

Lesson 1: Go BIG or go home!
Lesson 2: Practice makes perfect
Lesson 3: Color me Beautiful
Lesson 4: Textured backgrounds
Lesson 5: All dressed up
Lesson6: Finishing touches

Building a Mystery

Collage is a wonderful art form that allows the artist to draw together many diverse elements into one piece....but how do they do it? This workshop will explore the basic principles of collage, design, and finding symbolic meaning behind all those little bits of paper! I will also be introducing an exciting nnew color application in the form of liquid watercolor sprays to create vivid backgrounds! The end result will be a cohesive piece of artwork and some of the "mysteries" behind it will be solved!

Time requirement: 4 -6 hours
Skill Level: ALL Levels
Workshop Fee: $70

Lesson 1: Random offerings
Lesson2: Vivid backgrounds
Lesson 3: Imagery and copyright issues
Lesson 4: Get Layered
Lesson 5: Heavenly Rays
Lesson6: Adding Depth and Highlights

You can purchase the liquid watercolors for this class at www.outsidethemargins.com I reccomend the Brites set

or here at www.discountschoolsupply.com You can buy individual colors here, so I recommend 3-4 colors you think would go nice together. You will also need to find some empty spray bottles that "mist".

Softly Spoken

Does the thought of picking up a paintbrush terrify you? Do you rely heavily on manufactured papers for your collage backgrounds? Are you looking for your own creative touch to add to your artwork? If you answered YES!! To any of these questions, this is a great workshop to get you kick-started on creating your own painted backgrounds. We will start the first portion of the workshop with some cool acrylic painting techniques for making a colorful background. We will also focus on creating mixed media collages that have a “softer side” as we work with copies of vintage photos, quotes, and adding our own whimsical touches. Discussion will cover the major principles of design including balance, contrast, proportion and more. We will also be experimenting with doodling and hand lettering…come on…be brave!! There is no wrong way to do it except not to do it all. We all struggle with our desire to do it “right” but first you have to give yourself permission to TRY IT!! By the end of the class you will leave with several finished backgrounds, basic knowledge of collage design, and even a finished piece or two depending on how quickly you work.

Time Requirement: 4-6 hours
Skill Level: All Levels
Workshop Fee: $70

Lesson 1: Humble beginnings
Lesson2: Color my World
Lesson 3: Playful touches
Lesson 4: Anatomy of a collage
Lesson 5: Getting wordy
Lesson 6: Adding dimension

Mixed Media Landscapes

Last fall I started wanted to create some whimsical artwork for my living room. The end result was a series of paintings called "House on a Hill" and they captured my love of simple landscapes and a nostaligic folk art feeling....with a little funkiness mixed in!! After several requests, I have developed this series into a 6 week workshop that will focus on creating colorful landscapes, whimsical houses, and some great painting & collage techniques. I hope you will enjoy creating with me!

Time Requirement: 6-8 hours
Skill Level: All Levels
Workshop Fee: $70

Lesson 1: In the Beginning
Lesson 2: Day & Night
Lesson 3: Over the Hills...
Lesson 4: And thru the woods....
Lesson 5: Come to my House
Lesson 6: A Matter of Perspective

A Colorful Past:

We all love the timeless feel of vintage photos and they appear in a lot of today's mixed media art....but wouldn't you LOVE to see some color in them? In this COLOFUL workshop we will create some fabulous painted backgrounds and learn how to add lots of color to those traseured photos. We will also experiment with lots of whimsical ideas to make your art truly unique and fun!

Time requirement: 4 -6 hours
Skill Level: ALL Levels
Workshop Fee: $70.00

Lesson 1: Colorful Backgrounds
Lesson2: It's all in the Details
Lesson 3: Collage Basics
Lesson 4: It's not a black & white world!
Lesson 5: Adding Art-itude!
Lesson6: Finishing touches

Just Junque-It!!

Attention all hoarders, junk collectors, and finders of lost treasures!! If you have an overflowing stash of junque (yup...also known as junk!) it is high time you use some of it! This workshop will cover unique uses for a wide variety of items you may already have as we assemble them into works of art on canvas. Techniques will cover hand painted backgrounds, methods of adhering 3D objects onto canvas, and creating niches in canvas. We will also discuss how to build meaning into our pieces. Each student will complete at least one finished canvas...but you are welcome to do more as inspiration flows. I will have a good supply of junque to share, but remember that this is a time to use those items YOU have been saving for something special in the name of art! So go look in your basement, your yard, the desk, deep in your artroom, a toolshed, your jewelry box...and don't forget the kitchen junk drawer!! Even if you're not sure what it is...what the heck...just junque it!  

Time requirement: 4 -6 hours
 Skill Level: ALL Levels  
Workshop Fee $70.00

Lesson 1: structure of a recessed niche 
Lesson 2: Let's paint!
 Lesson 3: Can we talk Junque?
 Lesson 4: Adhesives: a sticky subject 
Lesson 5: building a niche of your own 
Lesson 6: Finishing it off  

PLEASE NOTE: With the exception of weeks 1 & 5, expect to take at least a half hour to work on your project. The structure & building portions of weeks 1 & 5 will vary depending on how many pieces you are going to tackle at once. I recommend spending at least an hour during these two weeks to get good results.