testimonials
Visual Artist Accelerator Program
Hear past Visual Artist Accelerator participants Rukmini Poddar and Kelly Rae Roberts share their experiences in the mentorship program and how it has helped them make their art!
Corvallis, Oregon
“Let’s Go Deep helped me to realize my dream of creating a cohesive body of work. Annamieka showed me how to distill my love of birds and the natural world into a theme and to let that theme guide my art practice. As a result, I was able to create a series of drawings that hold together stylistically and form a real collection. I cannot overstate the significance of this achievement for me both personally and professionally. I cannot recommend Let’s Go Deep and Annamieka more highly. If you are yearning to become the artist that you've always wanted to be, then you owe it to yourself and your future collectors to sign up for this course.”
Singapore
“Let’s Go Deep is also a journey of self-exploration as an artist. It has been a pivot point for me to learn and know about my own artist visual voice. Showing up for myself made the difference, and the other most significant difference is having the support of Annamieka. She is a gifted listener, and I have never felt so deeply listened to by anyone concerning my art. Through her deep listening, she helped me clarify my thoughts and ideas about my art that otherwise would just be swimming in my head of confusion.”
Portland, Oregon
“Over the past year, I have had the absolute pleasure of being a part of my friend, Annamieka Hopps Davidson's class called Let's Go Deep. I cannot begin to tell you how valuable this course has been for me as an artist. She is absolutely brilliant, and the course is set up to really nurture the artist in each of us, whether we are just starting out or a seasoned artist. Having her as a teacher and mentor has been one of the best investments into my own art practice! The next session is open for enrollment.”
Lita Colligan
Portland, Oregon
“As a fledgling artist, I was able to accomplish so much under the guidance of Annamieka and this amazing online artists' collaborative. I now have a studio organized in my home, take my art prompts with me wherever I go, understand basic elements of design and color theory, acknowledge my own creative style and voice, utilize critique to evaluate my work and the work of others, created an artist statement, and reached the course goal - to produce an actual body of work, a collection of art pieces that I feel proud to call my own. Annamieka's gift is her ability to listen and give feedback in a way that is so deep and personally individualized, yet benefits everyone in the class. She engages in each exercise with the class, using her own work, so you experience her struggles as you experience your own.
Let's Go Deep is an awesome immersion experience: enlightening, motivating, and confidence-building. You will dig deep into yourself to discover your own artistic voice and be able to say with pride, "I am an artist!"“
Salem, Oregon
“At first, I was hesitant to sign up for Let's Go Deep because I didn't want more on my to-do list. But my concerns were quickly eased by Annamieka's encouragement and flexibility. Some months I produced lots of work, others not so much. She was always understanding and supportive. She helped me realize that it's not a race to complete x number of art pieces, it's to enjoy the process of learning about and creating art, whenever and however you manage to fit it into your life.
After working with Annamieka for a year, now I often hear her voice in my head asking me questions, like: What do you love about this piece? or, Where do you want the viewer's eye to go? or, Where can you add more value contrast? or What can you add to this piece that will connect it with the other pieces in your series?
I would definitely sign up again for this course (and I might!). I recently referred someone to the Let's Go Deep program who wanted to find her own specific artistic niche and style.”
”Let’s Go Deep is about developing a productive and meaningful creative practice as a visual artist. It’s thoughtfully, brilliantly designed to help you do that. And, as the name implies, it might go deeper than that. It certainly did for me. Something about Annamieka’s program helped me step back from my lifelong sense of urgency to "make art"... to "be an artist”... and just give myself some space to figure out what the heck that actually meant for me! With this new perspective, I have an incredibly satisfying feeling of being at home in myself. I still have a sense of quest, but the urgency is gone. I know that it’s going to be a lifelong love affair, always evolving, always taking new forms. That's what being an artist means to me now. Annamieka was the perfect mentor for me in this mind- and heart-expanding process. I chose to take advantage of monthly one-on-one sessions and a day-long studio visit with her (in addition to the wonderful group meetings). She met me where I was, messy month after messy month. She is a phenomenally gifted guide. Let's Go Deep was a priceless experience. Powerfully transformational.”
California
“The mentoring sessions were the best!!
The course felt like Architecture to Creativity. The course built a beautiful support system to create space for art making. It was truly wonderful.”
Amman, Jordan
"I learned so much from Annamieka’s wonderful course Let’s Go Deep. I rediscovered my creativity in my 40s, so it never occurred to me to attend art school. Annamieka’s teaching, guidance and encouragement have therefore been invaluable on my art journey. She helped me dive deep into my creative process and brought to my awareness aspects of my art that I wasn’t able to perceive clearly myself. She made me look at my art in a totally new way. Our focus in Let’s Go Deep, to come up with a coherent body of work, bore fruit and by the end of the course I was asked to participate in a group exhibition! I highly recommend all her offerings. She is a remarkable person and a wonderfully supportive mentor."
Connecticut
“Let's Go Deep is part art coaching, group encouragement, and insights from a working artist. The program kept me engaged and gave me new things to try and to consider.
The parts I found most helpful were the monthly video lessons because they connected the participants. Hearing about what other artists are doing was insightful.
Annamieka's kind, gentle approach was always encouraging."
"I had only taken 1 semester of art back in school over 20 years ago, and painted every now & then mostly trying to copy other pictures I liked. Annamieka has helped me create paintings that are all my own & I actually like my own creations! She reminded me of my own love and passion for nature & art, and her methods are very approachable and easy to fit into every day life." ~Julie Hamilton, Portland, Oregon.
While you are teaching us art techniques, you're really opening doors and windows to a way to see the world around us, and to interpret that world in our own unique manner. I just feel this class happened at the perfect time for me. ~Carol Busseau, Eugene, Oregon