My Live Workshop with Bonnie Christine

I’ve always dreamt of doing a live art workshop! 

Just the thought of connecting with students on a more personal basis and seeing their faces light up while learning seemed so engaging. As an online teacher for almost 5 years, I felt I was ready. So when I heard that Michaels was offering their workshop space for just a small percentage of student sales, I got pretty excited!

But then the pandemic hit…

Well, so much for that idea. I thought I’d bide my time and continue to create online classes while enjoying interactions with my lovely students. In the meantime, I took Bonnie Christine’s Immersion 2020 course which is an intensive 8 weeks of learning surface pattern design while building a personal online brand to encompass other revenue streams. I first learned about Bonnie while teaching on Skillshare. Her impressive 12k + following was hard to ignore, and when I discovered her sweet, easy going teaching and work style, I could see why so many had chosen to learn from her.

My Blue Snowball microphone and older iPhone inline mic.

I’m not an easy sale by any means, and after making a sizable purchase to take the Immersion course, I was offered an opportunity to join her membership group called Flourish for a monthly fee. The concept is one of generosity, friendship, and nurturing which I quickly got accustomed to in the course. So although I rarely opt to join memberships, I did join Flourish. And flourish I did! 

It’s only been a few months, and I’ve already cultivated what looks to be some long-standing relationships with my weekly peer group of talented and equally generous ladies, revamped my website, and became a full time creative. Whoa! Such major changes in such a short time has been nothing short of head spinning, but in the most delightful way possible.

Then I got an invitation from Bonnie Christine to do a LIVE Zoom workshop!!! 

Some of my studio space tools.

What??? A live workshop at a time I never expected to be able to do it? It’s what I’d always wanted. And with no other than my creative heroine, Bonnie Christine! We decided on Class Creation as a topic and I was off and running to create my presentation. I was super nervous the day of the workshop, but it went really well despite a dry throat coughing attack in the middle. Bonnie took over like the pro that she is, filling in the time with meaningful discussion, while I got some water and took a breath. There were some great questions at the end, and as I imagined, it was absolutely lovely to see my students’ faces and interact with them on a more one on one basis. I’ve decided I’d love to do more Zoom workshops in the future now that I know the ropes!

It just goes to show, if you keep your dream on the horizon, it can pop up at the most unexpected time and places!

In the meantime, you can check out Bonnie Christine and her endeavors by clicking this link, and you can watch the recorded workshop on her website here if you are a Flourish member. If you’re not a member, I will be publishing The Art of Class Creation very soon as a separate course. If you’re interested in teaching your own online courses with a simple low tech set up, you can sign up to receive an update when the class is live. I am also working on a course called Getting Started with iMovie for Creatives, as a follow up. If you use Apple products, and you’re not tech savvy, this class is for you!

If you have thoughts on this subject, or have questions, I’d love to see your comments below!

Until next time,

Chris V. ;-)