Writing this one took me a while, as I've been juggling this idea for quite some time. Most of you know that I've been struggling in the last
3 years with my creative business, health and life in a general sense. Just as I was regaining control of my health, the company I worked for
23 years closed my department. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had blamed all of my struggles on my health. But when I lost my day job, I was forced to examine my life and what I wanted it to be more closely. I'm going to be really candid about what's in my mind.

It's easy when you have a steady income with great benefits to let life be and not question things, but here I was with an open road in front of me. The thought of finding a similar job right away frankly made me feel sick. 
I impulsively signed up for a 6 months UX design class to get a degree and enrich my design knowledge. I specialized in print design at the time. Even if I dabbled a bit in digital, my technical understanding wasn't enough to make me feel secure about it. 

I was put in a position and privilege to take the time I needed to figure out what the heck I wanted to be when I grew up. It was a strange, exhilarating feeling to do so at 47. It was also anxiety-inducing. Let's just say it's been an odd year. I was conscious of the privilege while having moments when I was folding a pile of clothes looking around me, and asking myself if I would lose everything when the money ran out.

Some days I would wake up really energized and ready to conquer the world, while on others, I felt like hiding. I fought this feeling a lot. I met new people, and some acquaintances turned into great friendships. Reconnected with people that I missed dearly without even realizing it. I'm thankful for these friendships and even some strangers that helped me put my self-doubt aside and begin to see what I wanted and did not want anymore. 

When I was approached to teach online in 2015, my day job wasn't fulfilling my creative needs. I've been there too long doing the same thing. I accepted without thinking because it was a challenge and desperately needed one. I was hooked from the get-go. I never considered myself the best at anything, but I am passionate about sharing knowledge and helping others feel the same greatness I do when I create. The collaboration I did was successful. It gave me the guts to do it on my own, and a Canvas Journey was born. That class success exceeded, by far, the goals I had fixed for myself. A success I haven't been able to reproduce since. I put much pressure on myself to recreate it while working full-time, but it was not sustainable. 

When I lost my day job, I thought maybe It was time to put all the ideas into action; I had the time. It saddens me a bit to admit this, but I realized that time wasn't the only problem, but I simply didn't find joy in it. I lack the resources and network to create the class I want, and also, to teach something, you have to practice it and know it. The reality is that my art is evolving, and I don't have anything else to teach. I'm learning and changing on many fronts, both in my creative business and my new day job. It's not something I do simply to pay the bills and buy art supplies anymore. I'm learning every day and challenging myself.

This brings me to a tough decision. Next September, I will retire all the online classes from the site; I don't have the time or energy to advertise and sell them. I'm telling you this now to give you enough time to download the classes you bought from me. I can't afford to host everything if it's just sitting there. Each class is a bit different, but under each video, there is a download button. These videos can be heavy, so you may need an external hard drive to copy them; alternatively, you can save them on the cloud. The choice is yours. 

Does this all mean I will stop creating and sharing? Absolutely not. But for now, my practice will concentrate on playing and creating a body of work for myself to exhibit and sell instead of classes. I hope that you will understand and that we will keep sharing. I'm just an email away. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram; I will still post videos, tips and inspiration; I will never stop creating; I will just do it differently. I'm beginning a new career, and that's where my mind needs to focus now. I'm also aiming for a more balanced work and social life. Maybe in a couple of years,  my creative process will evolve so that I will have more classes in me.

As a thank you for your support over the years, all classes are at 50% until August 1st. Giving you the time to download everything and get to it when you're ready. No code is needed; the prices are already reduced in the store. 

I wish you all a happy and creative life and see you soon, I'm just an email away.
Karine   

What's going on?

Brace yourself. It's a long one, but it contains important information if you have bought one of my classes.I even but an interlude in there.
​
If you've been following me for a while, you know that the department I've been working for 23 years closed in November, leaving me without a day job, and I went back to school. If you didn't know, well, now you do. I want to get real personal with this post and let you know what is going on with me. Grab a cup of tea, and get comfortable while I bring you on the ride that has been my life for the past seven months.

If you follow my Instagram, you know I haven't stopped creating. In fact, I'm still strong at it. The newfound freedom opened something in me, and with time to breathe, I reconnected with my more explorative side. But it's not all sunshine and roses. 

I began the year with more updates and presence here, but as school and the search for a new job mixed with "what do I want to do when I grew up, " the anxiety and stress got the better of me. It's been a roller coaster of emotions; what the hell am I doing? I love what I'm learning; who will hire a 47-year-old? You're good, you got this; I'm not good enough. I'm going to lose everything.… and other irrational talks are going on in my mind. 

Even when most days I'm excited about the challenge, I am scared as hell and what happens when I'm scared? I retract and go into the chrysalid mode and become goo until I can figure out my next move. 
It's incredibly vulnerable; it's probably a trauma response. I need to focus on things I have control over. 

At the same time, I remember the reckless kid in me that would jump off a cliff and learn to fly as I went down. There are days that I wonder where that kid went while I keep trying to channel her. Letting go of all the false beliefs and it's damn exhausting. 

It is the first time I do not have a job in my adult life. It's a strange feeling; I know I'm privileged in many ways, and I don't miss for anything; all of my basic needs are covered, and even some little luxury where all those insecurities are coming from? I can't help but wonder where I would be in life if I did not have to deal with that much childhood trauma sometimes. It's easy to get lost in the "what if." 

Be reassured that it's not all pity parties. Magical moments also happened. Some acquaintances became friends, and I'm slowly getting out of my comfort zone and opening myself to the world again. I'm not quite the butterfly I wish to be yet, but the chrysalid is getting thinner.

I realized that I still love to design; when I lost my job, I was left with a better taste, and the thought of doing the same thing elsewhere made me want to trow up. Now I know it was more the situation than the design, I'm good at it, and it still brings me joy. Learning UX made me want to be more involved in the process, and I'm in love with the process of design centred on the user. Human and accessible design is something I can definitely get behind. 

Let's take a break and watch a short flip-through video of the result of the challenge 100 faces in 10 days. It was an enjoyable challenge to focus on; if you want to try it yourself, here's the Pinterest board of all the reference pictures I used. minus five that I apparently missed that can be replaced by any pictures, you would like to try. 

I haven't been as present as I wanted to. I had to focus my energy elsewhere; the last two years haven't been good for the art business; I spent more money on it than it brought me; it's not sustainable to still go that way. I had to think long and hard. Do I keep the business as is and hope for the best? Do I stop teaching and close that part of the site? What can I change? I'm still figuring it out. The site and classroom have been built over the last 7 years, but there is a lot of inconsistency in design as things have evolved and I found better ways to teach. It doesn't provide the best user experience. 

I can be brutally honest whit myself and admit that it needs a complete redesign. I have a plan; I want to apply all I've learned in the past six months and apply it to the site. Hopefully, that will happen in the next two months. It's a lot of work, and I will need some help. If you are a frequent user of the site and would like to participate in a usability test with me, I will find a way to compensate for your time. Usability tests are meant to test not the user but the site itself; what are the pain points, and what can be improved. If it's something, you would like to be part of, please contact me at karine@kabostudio.com. It's part of the process to create a better site. It will also help me build my portfolio while searching for a new job. 

If you are still here and read all of this, thank you. The more and more I realize that I'm not afraid of changes as the alternative means no evolution, and that, my friend, scares me more than any bad decisions or turns I could ever take.

I want to keep pushing the business side of Kabostudio and create something that inspires people to explore art and feel the same joy it brings me. I'm not done just yet. Change like this takes time, so I want to thank each of you who stuck by me while I transformed the business into something better. In the meantime 

Have a wonderful summer I'll still try and update you, you can follow me on instagram
or Join me for the free weekend retreat Make Create Express 
I'm also part of Book of days 

Please consider using my links if you register for any of these collaborative classes as it will help me stay in business.

PS If you have class and have not downloaded your videos, I recommend that you do; I don't plan to interrupt the service, but with big changes, you can't plan everything and you never know how smooth the transition between site will be, and you better be safe.

Again have a wonderful summer, with all my love
Karine

I'm super excited to announce that I'll be one of the teachers for the Make Create Express 22-23 workshop this year. I'll be offering up a lesson about watercolour still life. They are my go to when I want to try a new medium or get out of an art strut plus, I find still life to be so much fun to create along with 28 other teachers from around the world.

Make Create Express is a year-long mixed media adventure that kicks off with a FREE Creative Retreat weekend-The Tempter Sessions (open to all). With such a wide range of lessons, you will surely learn new techniques and processes and discover new ways to express your unique creativity. And did I mention that there is a FREE weekend event where you can access 28 lessons? All absolutely free!

My main lessons for the year-long workshop are both projects with watercolour and gouache, one in which I'll show you how I create watercolour portraits whit intent and meaning and a project on 2point perspective to draw your perfect room. While I teach you these techniques, I'll also talk about the process behind them and how it helps me be better at storytelling through my art. Find out more 

I have two new offers in the store for you. You can now get gift cards redeemable on anything in the store. Classes and original art. 
Something to add to your wish list for your next birthday, maybe? Many of my recent creations will be added soon as well.

My second new offering came from a need to connect deeper with my followers. Sharing what I know and inspiring people is one of the most rewarding things. I am now offering one-on-one sessions in 1, 2 or 3 hours format. Either via webcam, but if you are local, in-person is also possible. A session can either be in English or French. There is a drop-down pre-selection, but I will be happy to discuss it before an appointment if you want to learn something else. 
Whether you need help with a specific thing, wish to talk about mediums, paint under my guidance, I invite you to connect with me and see the possibilities. Small groups are also possible. Simply contact me for availability and planning your creative event.

​clic on picture to learn more.