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COMING January 2026 >
An Online Adventure!
The January Sketching Adventure: A Creative Expedition
Pack your sketchbook and get ready to embark on a 31-day creative expedition this January! Your adventure is designed to shake off the rust, spark new ideas, and help you forge a consistent artistic practice. Each day, you'll receive field notes and engaging prompts directly to your inbox to guide your creative exploration.
More than a journey, this is a creative community:
Daily Field Notes: 31 days of fresh prompts to keep your expedition moving and your imagination flowing.
Forge Your Own Path: Navigate the adventure at your own pace—follow the daily challenge or use the prompts as inspiration for your own discoveries.
Creative Territories: Use the prompts as your opportunity to sharpen existing skills, try new tools and materials you’ve been itching to try and discover what inspires you on this artistic landscape.
Basecamp: Connect with fellow adventurers in our exclusive Facebook group. Share your finds, offer encouragement, and celebrate each other's growth as you trek through the month.
Your Expedition Toolkit:
Essentials: Your adventure begins with a sketchbook and a pencil or pen and ink.
Expedition Gear: Feel free to bring along optional supplies like watercolors, brush pens, colored pencils, pastels, and other mixed media to capture the sights you discover.
Don't just make a resolution—go on an adventure. This January, find your artistic rhythm and watch your confidence grow as you explore new creative horizons.
For more information or to register directly, email Steve at: roadtocreativity@gmail.com
Watch for more registration details coming in December.
Coming March 2026 >
Winter's End Sketchbook: A 6-Week Pen, Ink, & Watercolor Journey
Are you looking for a creative escape from the last weeks of winter and early spring in Maine? Join us for an immersive 6-week course designed to get you comfortable and confident with the dynamic combination of pen and ink sketching and loose watercolor washes.
Whether you're a seasoned artist or picking up a pen for the first time, this class will provide the foundational skills and supportive environment to develop your unique sketching style.
Course Highlights
Focus on Fundamentals: Weeks 1-4 are dedicated to mastering a variety of ink techniques, including line quality, hatching, cross-hatching, and establishing form, tone, and texture.
Introduction to Color: In weeks 5-6, we'll introduce the expressive world of watercolor, focusing on basic color theory, loose washes, and layering techniques to bring your ink sketches to life. You'll learn how to successfully combine the two mediums.
Local Inspiration: We'll draw inspiration from a mix of still life subjects, reference photos of local Maine scenes, and even explore some abstract botanical forms, bringing the spirit of the approaching Maine spring indoors.
Loose & Expressive: The goal is not photorealism, but to create lively, expressive sketches that capture the essence of a scene and build your confidence in a fun, low-pressure setting.
What You'll Learn
Materials & Tools: Understanding the right waterproof pens, nibs, inks, and paper for best results.
Composition Basics: Planning your sketches effectively to create visually engaging artwork.
Seeing in Layers: The two main approaches: inking first then adding color, or laying down light color washes first and adding details with ink.
The Power of Water: Using water as a key element for beautiful blending effects and soft edges.
Flexible Scheduling for Maine Weather
Meeting during March and April in Maine means we need to be prepared for the unexpected! The 6-week structure allows for date adjustments if severe weather necessitates a cancellation. Your instructor will provide clear communication regarding any scheduling changes, ensuring we complete all sessions without compromising safety or class quality.
Who is this class for?
This course is open to adults of all skill levels. If you have a curiosity for sketching and want to establish a regular art practice, this class is for you. A simple, minimalist sketching setup is all you need to get started.
Come chase away the late winter blues and discover the joy of capturing the world around you with pen, ink, and watercolor!
Location: Cape Community Center - Cape Elizabeth, Maine
[Registration details and a materials list coming soon]
Previous Classes
Mindful Muse Loose Sketching Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9
Mindful Muse Loose Sketching Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2, 9
Unleash your inner artist this September with Mindful Muse Loose Sketching! This class is designed for everyone, whether you're picking up a pen for the very first time or you're a seasoned artist looking to simplify your approach and cultivate a regular, stress-free practice. Through the fluid mediums of pen and ink in your sketchbook, we'll explore the joy of quickly capturing ideas and observations. Our goal isn't perfection, but presence: we'll embrace and even plan for "mistakes," allowing them to guide our creative flow. You'll learn to relax, get ideas on paper with ease, working from real life when possible and photos otherwise. Come discover the liberating power of loose sketching!
> Open Outdoor Art Space - ENDED 6/30/25
Weekly on Tuesdays 10:00 AM - Noon Jul 1, 2025 - Jul 29, 2025
Location: In and around the beautiful Maine coastal town of Cape Elizabeth
Whatever media you enjoy bring it with! Each week we will meet at a different venue: beach, coffee shop, garden, to name a few. Take your art supplies outside, develop your observational skills, connect with your environment and with other artists - no matter where you're starting from. On site you will be guided by Steve Addario and Marty Clark.
Suggested supplies: sketchbook, pen & ink and/or pencils.
Optional: colored pencils, watercolors, acrylics - whatever is easily portable for you is best.
30 Day Sketching Adventure ENDED 6/30/25
From the comfort of your home, follow daily email prompts to spark your imagination and inspire your creativity. Complete them daily or at your own pace. Exploring the tools and techniques that inspire you. This is about embracing the process and celebrating your progress, no matter where you're starting from. We'll share our work on a private Facebook group, offer encouragement and celebrate each other's growth.
This includes an introductory live session on Zoom, ie., a welcome session, answering questions about how to use the Facebook group, posting pictures, and an exploration of tools. There will also be artist demos to show how they might work with the prompt for the day. Each Zoom session will be recorded and available to you if you are unable to attend live.
Supplies: sketchbook, pencil, pen, ink
Optional Supplies: watercolor, brush pens, crayons, colored pencils, pastels and mixed media. This adventure is an opportunity to nurture your artistic spirit, experiment with different approaches, and unlock your unique visual voice.
April 2025 - ended May 8, 2025
Mindful Muse Loose Sketching - 4/10 thru 5/8 - Thursdays from 1:00-2:30 pm.
Unleash your inner artist and discover the joy of loose sketching! This class is designed for adults of all skill levels, even if you haven't picked up a pencil since grade school. We'll explore playful techniques, abandon the pressure of perfection, and tap into your natural creativity. Through fun exercises and a relaxed atmosphere, you'll learn to capture the essence of your subjects with expressive lines and spontaneous marks. No prior experience is necessary - just a willingness to experiment and embrace the beauty of imperfection. Come join us and rediscover the simple pleasure of putting pencil to paper.
Supplies: Sketchbook and pencils. (You can also use fountain pens, micron pens, and similar tools.)
Optional Supplies: watercolor, colored pencils, brush pens, pastels and any other media you have and want to explore.
January 2025
Mindful Muse Art Journaling In Cape Elizabeth #mmajic
January 9 thru February 13, 2025
In this 6 week Mindful Muse Art Journaling class:
We will focus on basics of creating images and exploring ways to make your creativity come to life on your journal page.
Skill is not required - that comes with practice and blossoms in a supportive environment with the right supports.
You will practice leaving perfection outside the door and allow yourself to play, learn and grow.
You will learn the only rule you need to follow is to identify what lights you up - by showing up. The rest will follow.
You will determine a realistic idea of how often and when you can fit art journaling and creativity into your life.
You will better understand the idea that even spending a small amount of time each day (even 5 minutes a day) will be more helpful to your growth than finding that "perfect" occasional hour - which often gets pushed away for weeks, months or even years. (The same is true of the tools - focus less on finding the right medium and start creating with what you have. It will get you further and faster.) One small step a day creates great distance (and learning) if done one day at a time. And it doesn't require the time and energy to walk that long distance in one day.
You will let go of limiting rules in art journaling and shift to a focus of meeting your creative goals.
You will move beyond old myths that artists have special gifts and you weren't in that line when they were handing it out. You will find your own gifts and grow those.
You will reconnect with your own creative muse and light up your creative life.
You might find the many things you believed you can't do are things you actually enjoy doing.
You might just find a new habit becoming a passion that you can sustain in your already busy life because it enhances your life.
Your host, Steve Addario, is an artist, teacher, therapist and coach who has sought answers to his own artistic roadblocks over many years. Steve works primarily with watercolors and has found working in his own journals to be a gateway to his own creative passion. Join Steve and others to reignite your creativity and light up your life!
Supplies: You can use what you already have on hand. Most people have paper and a pen or pencil nearby.
Steve suggests using a mixed media art journal and starting with a regular pencil or pen. Keeping your work in a small or medium sized journal makes it portable and eliminates the decision time required to find the right materials. It is a great way to record what you are doing and easily shows progress over time. NOTE: Any paper, pad or sketchbook that you already have will work. There really are no rules. Steve will provide a list to class members of his favorite options and optional media and supplies once we start.
Mindful Muse Art Journaling September 12 thru November 14, 2024
A mindful exploration of art, sketching, and creative journaling as inspired by your muse.
Whether a beginner, an explorer or an acclaimed artist, this class is for you. Step into this learning laboratory where essential skills become the tools that light your creative path. We'll build a supportive studio where you can explore drawing tools, practices and techniques, all while uncovering your unique artistic voice. Find inspiration in the everyday, from documenting everyday life experiences to planning future inspiration. This is a playful adventure where your journal becomes your canvas, and your muse your guide.
Meet your Muse and create together using simple art journaling tools.
Let's ignite your creativity together!
January thru March 2024
CREATIVITY & THE ARTIST WITHIN
Whether you’re an artist yearning to expand your creative horizons, or someone grappling with a frustrating creative block, this course is for you. Even if you’ve always believed that creativity isn’t your thing, we’re here to challenge that notion. Perhaps you’re simply intrigued by the concept of creativity and wish to delve deeper into its mysteries. Regardless of where you stand on the creative spectrum, this course is designed to unlock your inherent creative potential.
Creativity isn’t some mystical power that only wizards possess - it’s a skill, like juggling or being able to say the alphabet backwards. It’s all about shaking things up, stepping into the unknown, and living in the moment.
Join therapist, educator and artist, Steve Addario, for a transformative 6-week journey. Register for the full experience at a discounted price or choose individual weeks that pique your interest. Unleash your creativity and discover a world of endless possibilities!
Schedule: Saturdays 1/27-3/2/24 Time: 2:00-3:30 pm
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