WILD WONDER: An online course
Wild Wonder
An online exploration into mixed media painting, botany, and your own innate wildness.
Are you wild at heart?
Do you cheer for that dandelion that pushed its way up through the cracks in the sidewalk?
Are you astonished when you gaze deeply into the face of a flower?
You’re not alone.
There’s a whole community of us out here who are wild at heart – who are artists and who restore ourselves with time in nature.
When I say wild, I mean connected.
When I say wild, I mean free.
When I say wild I mean we understand that we are a part of nature and connected to the cycles of life. We come alive when we are in a place where we feel free to explore our true nature.
Wild Wonder is a self-study, instant access e-course where you can learn how to make mixed-media paintings, while being invited to go outside and connect with nature.
This course is all about seeking those glimpses of wildness and infusing your paintings with your own wild experiences – your true nature made visible. We will learn the basics of botany, and ecology, and weave them into our paintings.
Wild Wonder is now a self-study, instant access e-course. Begin now and it's yours forever! You can choose to sign up for the course by itself, or sign up for the course plus a creative mentoring session with me! When you sign up for course plus mentoring package, you get the benefit of instant access to Wild Wonder plus a 1-hour, private mentoring session to schedule at your convenience. This package is the best solution because you can work one-on-one with me while you are going through the Wild Wonder course materials. And it’s a REALLY good value because a normal creative mentoring session is $150 all by itself!
This online workshop includes:
Beautiful, high definition video tutorials
Fun and forgiving art techniques including painting, drawing, and collage
Botany basics
Invitations to explore your world including guided walks and inspiration gathering
Prompts for your self-discovery including journaling and reflection
Interviews with inspiring artists and scientists like Kelly Rae Roberts, Mati Rose McDonough, Kristie Reddick of the Bug Chicks, Nancy Hopps, and more!
Opportunity to connect with kindred spirits in our private Facebook Group
The course videos feature music from Peter Janson, Nathaniel Talbot, the Shook Twins and Elephant Revival.
Frequently asked questions:
How much time should I budget for this class?
It depends how much time you want to dedicate to the course material. Each lesson ranges in scope from about ten minutes to 60 minutes. Feel free to take the lessons that resonate most and let go of the rest! You can also dive into the material all at once and do an immersive, Wild Wonder-style weekend! Most importantly, this class is for you and you get to engage as much or as little as you like.
What if I live in the city?
It doesn’t matter if you live in the city or in the wilderness, we will explore our wild hearts wherever we live!
What if I’m just a beginner?
This class is perfect for you even if you’re a total beginner. The prompts are designed to meet you right where you are with fun and forgiving art techniques. You’ll be guided through how to make a mixed-media painting like I do. You’ll be learning collage, drawing, and painting techniques. You’ll also be prompted to do self-reflection through guided journaling, guided meditations, and by watching interviews with inspiring artists and scientists.
What’s the price?
$147
What do I get when I sign up for this course?
You get a full, juicy guided painting experience with me! I am guiding you through how to make layered, mixed-media paintings in my style, using painting, drawing and collage. I am teaching you the entire process that I teach in my wilderness art retreats, plus a whole lot more.
Once your payment is submitted, you will be instantly emailed a .pdf document that has your secret login link to the Wild Wonder Self-Study course. The Welcome .pdf also contains some suggestions that I have for how to approach the course, and a link to the welcome video, and the materials list.
The course is designed for busy working people so that you can do one lesson each day, or do them all at once for an immersive experience. It's self-paced so feel free to access the materials in a way that works best for you!
There are engaging video lessons where I guide you through the painting process, teach you botany, lead you through drawing and collecting imagery.
There are beautiful photos and essays describing details of the process.
There are journaling prompts and recordings that you can listen to as you walk outside while gathering inspiration.
There are interviews with inspirational artists and scientists whose work will explores the connections between botany, ecology, art, and humanity.
This is all held inside your own private online classroom.
You will have access to the course forever! To clarify: as long as online courses & my art career & business exist! Which I plan on doing forever :o)
You are welcome to go at your own pace.
We have a private Facebook group where you can interact with other alumni of the course and people who are taking it at their own pace.
What materials do I need to plan on purchasing for this course?
You will get a detailed materials list when you register for the course. We use a wide range of mixed-media supplies in this course. I would budget at least fifty dollars for art supplies for this course. These materials range in price a LOT. You can paint very affordably, if you paint with craft paint or paints that are on sale, and if you are able to find re-used surfaces to paint on. You can also spend a LOT of money if you buy the top quality professional paints, brushes, and canvases. I will go into more detail when you register but at a minimum you are going to want to be able to purchase several painting surfaces, (such as canvas or wood panels), along with at least a half a dozen colors of paint, brushes, collage papers, collage medium, drawing pencils, and drawing paper.
I see that you teach with acrylic paints. Can I use watercolors or gouache or oils instead?
My teaching methods are largely based on using acrylic paint, along with collage and drawing. The main reason that I use acrylic paint is that I like to build up thick layers, where we completely cover what is below. You might be able to get this effect with a thick layer of gouache, especially with a nice titanium white mixed in, but it is more reliable to get this effect with acrylic paint. I do not recommend using watercolors as watercolors by nature are transparent so you won’t get the same amount of coverage when layering, as you would with acrylic paint. I do not recommend using oils for this process as they take longer to dry, and part of the fun of working in my collage+drawing+painting process is the ability to quickly work on top of the previously dry layers of your painting.
That being said, there are many parts of the course, such as the writing and drawing prompts, expert interviews, and the interactive community aspect, that have nothing to do with what type of paint you use. However, the main part of the course is where I take you through all the steps to make a layered painting with collage and acrylic, and that is where you might want to try acrylic paint, to experience the technique.
How long will I have access to the course?
As a self-study class, you'll have access to the course forever!
If you have more questions – ask me! I’d love to hear from you!
Just email me: hello@annamieka.com
Embrace your wild heart and make paintings inspired by your own wildest places.
Gratitude:
The production of Wild Wonder was supported in part by a generous professional development grant from the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Receiving this grant funding allowed me to hire the videographer who filmed the course, and it gave me the structure and accountability to get it done. Being my first online course, creating Wild Wonder was QUITE a process and I don’t know if I would have completed it without the deadlines and funding contribution that RACC was able to provide. Fast forward four years later, and the majority of my business is in teaching art courses online and it is my dream come true. I will appreciate this support forever!
THANK YOU, RACC!!
