Finger puppets :)

Step by step art!

Finger puppets in brave colors!

Step 1: Choose BRAVE colors! And cut around the main shape of the finger puppet (make sure your little artist finger fits)

Step 2: design the eyes, (2 eyes? 4 eyes? We like monsters here!) mouth, and hands
Step 3: hair! Yes HAIR gets its own time!  😉 We made pompons and it was hair (inspired by my morning hair…)
Step 4: hot glue gun it all! This is tricky, be careful. You can also sew it together (recommended if you’ve not used a hot glue gun before).
step 5: enjoy!

Mirror Art for the Holidays !

Happy Holidays everyone!

Weather you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, all of the above (I do!) or more, may it be wonderful!  

I hope this email finds you well, it's a busy time of the year. So now, more than ever, art is such an important part of winding down and recentering. This week's art is "mirror art" craft tips for you, to make your own cards, ornaments, and just have fun, hope you enjoy it :) 

What you’ll need:

• scissors

• colorful paper (card stock is best but use whatever you got)

• pencils

• markers

• buttons

• tape

• glue

  Let’s get to work!
  
  1. Take the paper, and fold in half.

  2. sketch half a christmas tree (trip- make it simple, see picture of design)

  3. cut around the edges

  4. open it up! you got a mirror tree!
  5. make 3 more, best in vivid colors
  

  To turn into an ornament, cut a circle and glue the tree shape on it. glue buttons on top, etc. make it pop!
  
  to turn into a card, take another card stock paper (tip- use complementary colors as in blue with orange, red and green- sis someone say xmas?! and purple and yellow) . Then glue the trees on it and decorate with colorful tape in the corners. Hope the picture helps here! They’re from the super fun workshop at the Yukon Art Center!
  
  
  Hope you have fun making a mess! Let me know how it goes :)
  
  I also got LOTS of new art tips for you in the new year, and will switch from more mediums, ages, and colors. stay tuned! But for now, let's make art that we can also give away as a gift, card, ornement, and holiday easy peasy lemon squeezy. 
  
  Colorfully yours,
  
  Maya
  
  

Art and recycling!

Fun art and recucling!

Hi everyone! This week I have a surprise for you about recycling art!

I am a strong believer that art can make our lives better. If you've had classes with me you know- my goal in life is to inspire you to create and see the amazing creative and fun light that sparks in you when you do art!

I am also a believer that art should help our planet, not add waste. And how to connect the two you ask? Simple! Create with recycled materials! I've had the pleasure to guide art tours this month at the Yukon Art Center and lead the Kids Kreate at both we discussed recycling crafts into our creations! This time, I'm adding a blog about how to do so in a colorful and fun way.

The best part? You probably already have most of the supply in your recycling bin! You just saved a trip to the recycling, and made art- score!

What you need:

• glue

• scissors

• newspapers

• paint of any kind

• markers

• paper (cardstock is best as it can hold glue well
  
  
  What we’ll do:
  

• first draw a fun face

• add clothes and boots- get creative! we did the porcupine mascot for the olympic games you can see at the youth gallery at the Yukon Art Center, but do any animal you want! maybe it wears a funny outfit?
  * Bonus pints: if you have a little one, make a pattern, and see how they place colors next to each other. Kids LOVE to make patterns.

• cut lines from the newspaper

• paint them or leave as is

• after it dried, glue and design! we added als colorful sticks, and made a pattern (ahhmm… pattern!) but go crazy and make a curly hair from newspaper, etc.

• add paint and finish up !
  

Hope you enjoy this one, and looking forward to share the next one :)

Colorfully yours,

Maya

Creating art and craft at home

Art should be accessible, fun, and a great way to feel inspired. From recycled art to be aware of reducing waste, to paint parties at your home tips that you can do yourselves, and more. Every time I'll share something else.

And because it's fall- let's chat about making art with fall colors and nature! I love the red, green, yellow and all the colors that pop up now. Last time we talked about the basic colors, this time we'll talk about complementary colors- colors that couple best together in the colors wheel. We got red with green, blue with orange, and yellow with purple - the colors that are located opposite in the color wheel. Our brain is wired to like them together (I know- Christmas is all about these colors!) and they'll make you happier in and out! It's like color magic :)

Now let's bring them together! they work best when side by side. I love their effects and I love even more how we can paint them with nature- such a leaves prints. Next time you take a walk, pick a nice shaped leaf. Then when you get home, take some paint in complementary couples (red-green, blue-orange, yellow-purple) and put some acrylic on a paper plate from each. Then dip a brush in one clean color, and cover one leaf in orange for example, and flip the leaf onto a page. Press for 10 seconds and take off. And another leaf onto blue- and on a page. And more! You'll get a leaf print with special shapes- and no print looks like another! 

For more art tips join my newsletter at “contact me” on the website or message me.

Hope you'll enjoy playing! This is it for now,  next time is a surprise! ;)  

The picture is one of my favorites- hope it inspired you go get colorful!

Community collaborative Mural- spaces in between!

I’m SO excited to share this with you!

I have been cooking this project for many months and it has finally come to light and a closure/new beginning. The project is called “Spaces in between” and it’s because that’s what art is for me. It’s all about giving back to our community with art, because honestly, that’s one of the main reasons I opened my business and why I don’t only focus on selling art. It’s been collaborated with Arts in the Park and LDAY .

It doesn't matter where you're coming from. It doesn't matter which language you speak. It doesn't matter what age you are. You can always become a more colorful version of yourself and give back to your community, if you remember to enjoy the spaces in between. This project represents the empowering and inspiring results of collaborative forms of arts in our community.

The project focus on the idea of spaces in between through music and art, from the perspectives of our community members. The spaces in between can be when we enjoy a good song, the deep breath we take in between the busy moments. The project focus on a visual representation of the feeling of spaces in between with the use of lines and hues, negative space and contrast, and was painted collaboratively by the community members at Arts in the Park in June 2019, over a week, by community members of all ages. These paintings were created by the community for the community, and was donated to an organization that supports the community and empowers it, just like art does. This way, members and especially kids from the community take part at a bigger project to show appreciation to organizations such as LDAY, and support them back with a visual reminder of appreciation. It will hopefully serve the goal of inspiring people to remember the value of art forms and the space it brings to our lives, as well as the value of giving back to our community. LDAY are AMAZING! and sure deserve lots of love and colors, and I’m honored to give them this wonderful piece. Also, a HUGE THANK YOU to Arts in the Park for letting me paint this with our community. You’re wonderful for supporting arts in so many ways!

The project focus visually on different uses of line (cross hatch, pointillism) geometric lines and shapes that create spaces in between the shapes in the canvas. We create spaces in between through negative space and contrast in value, and use hues to create a vivid feeling of musical vibes, according to the music played that day at Arts in the Park. As this was created by many people, there was lots of room for creativity and flexibility, to see how the paintings develop as each participant adds a new line and idea. 

Hope it inspires you to go paint ;) and adds some brightfulness to your day!

colorfully yours,

Maya

Me and stephanie at LDAY

The painting has found a new home! :)

Art and Craft at home! - Abstract Painting

Some fun art at home! wehooo!!!

It’s spring, let’s get colorful! For this one, let’s do an abstract.

I usually pick 2-3 colors that go well together (complementary colors or just any ones that you like- you can’t go wrong!) . start making small lines in the dark colors. Then add in the spaces in between the lighter color. Then wait for it to dry a bit if you want a clear hue differentiation (or not if you want to mix them up and blend the hues ) and make the bright colors lines.

Just have fun with it! Freedom!!!!!

I love this template it’s so fun and liberating. It becomes automated after a while and a your hand just goes. And because it’s abstract you really don’t need to worry about the outcome. Yo can also add elements later if you want (a sea, a horse, moose, etc.)

Enjoy! I hope this inspired you to go and paint with someone you love, friends, family, yourself (yes! show yourself some love too!) and use the magic power of art to remember and enjoy the great moments in between :)

Colorfully yours,

Maya

Art is meant to empower our community - Opening reception at the Itsy Bitsy Yarn Store!

Hi everyone!

Today I’d love to share with you a huge part of why I opened my business and why art has magic powers.

Art can empower us, our communities and our relationships. It can be a great way to reconnect, share values visually, have a community event, and paint a place we want to remember from a shared experience.

I opened the business to be a part of this, and so when we bring people together through colors, it will inspire and include as many communities, wonderful individuals, and ideas worth sharing, through color. It’s truly amazing what we can create when we bring what we love through paint.

I’m excited to invite you to join us in celebrating the commissioned mural painting at the Itsy Bitsy Yarn Store. I was inspired to create (by the amazing store that owns it) a yarn wonderland, where yarn grows on trees and rivers are knitted where you want them to pop up. I mean, isn’t this how the Yukon River came to be? Someone knitted it over a long winter? ;) Haha… but seriously, this mural is a colorful appreciation to the amazing people that run it and the great COMMUNITY and creativity it supports.

We are THRILLED to invite you to join us at May 3, Friday, at 5-6 pm, at Itsy Bitsy Yarn Store, to celebrate, enjoy appies, AMAZING DOOR PRIZES, and lots and lots of love and creativity :)

Looking forward to see you soon,

Colorfully yours,

Maya

Art by Maya is expanding! plus "painting in pairs" at home tips!

Hi everyone,

I love how art can bring people together and celebrate love, creativity and joy. I said it before and still do - art is magic!

I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to the “painting in pairs” event at Arts Underground at Valentines to celebrate love through colors, and enjoy sharing a landscape and fun evening! You were so much fun to paint with! I appreciate how creative you were, and how every painting is different even though it was the same template.

And I’m proud and excited to share with you that Art by Maya is expanding and growing, as I’ll teach an art workshop at Haines Junction! Yukon’s gem, at the heart of the wilderness (details at upcoming events and workshops). It’s at the coldest days (it’s -20 here in Yukon! brrrr….) that we need to warm up our hearts and create together. And I am positive some colors, amazing mountains, and creative people will only help ;)

For your art at home tips, here’s my “painting in pairs” idea:

Take two canvases, but place them together side by side as one long canvas.

Then stretch a masking tape on the horizon line through both canvases to make sure there is a unifying element between the two paintings.

Choose something you both enjoy painting, a landscape from a place you’ve been to, a place you like, a fun theme. Each person can paint their own, but it’s still two sides of the same landscape when put together!

It’s a creative way to paint side by side and have a shared experience, and a new painting to put at home!

I hope this inspired you to go and paint with someone you love, friends, family, yourself (yes! show yourself some love too!) and use the magic power of art to remember and enjoy the great moments in between :)

Colorfully yours,

Maya

Celebrating colorful success

Starting the new year can be refreshing but it can also be overwhelming. So as everytime, my answer is colors! :) . This time I’ll share some ideas of how to make it more fun, and if you have kids how to get them involved.

It’s so important to celebrate our success. We always see what we did wrong, and I think that if we celebrate our success from the beginning of the year, we’ll have a much better year!

Take a Jar and decorate it, we can use glass markers, acrylics, anything goes. We can paint items, just colorful patterns, the sky is the limit! Then, every day write at least one thing you’re grateful for, and put it in the jar. When the jar is full (or when you have a really bad day) open it! It’s like an explosion of colorful success you made! AND you have an excuse to draw every day your success on a colorful paper, daily mini craft! win win! I put my jar in the living room and this way I didn’t forget it ;)

Hope this inspires you!

Till next time,

Colorfully yours,

Maya

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

The new year is like a white canvas, and just like any new painting, we never know how it will end up looking like. But we can sure enjoy coloring, drawing, painting, and getting creative while we create our new year ahead.

So before I start sharing everything I have for you, I want to say a huge THANK YOU for making this year AMAZING! your support, and everything you do, from small to big, has been much appreciated and I truly appreciate each and every one of you. I hope to grow the Art by Maya community even more next year! The list is so big and full of incredible people, many wonder woman, from amazing students, clients, boss babes I collaborate with, learn with, and inspired by, friends, family, and many wonderful people I could not have build my business without. Sometimes I feel like I learn from my students more than I teach.

Thank you all for painting with me, sharing your ideas, and being exactly who you are!

Can't wait to share with you LOTS of new workshops, ideas and more for the new year! I have so much ready for you!

Sending you lots of love,

Maya

*in the picture, my student paint on me blue hand covers to look like Wonder Woman! and that's pretty much how 2018 made me feel, like a colorful wonder woman!