sarah ahearn bellemare

it is always a big deal for me to put a new venture out into the world, especially one that is so near and dear to my heart! {color pattern paint} has been swirling around in my brain for what feels like a very long time, and letting it go, so to speak, is well, exciting and stressful all at once! 

for me to get it "out there", it takes lots of little baby steps... my GIANT idea needed to get out of my brain and onto paper. yep, paper! i have a big ole notebook for my workshop planning where every little idea/note/detail is written. this course has been in the works since the first one, pages & paint 2012, ended, because that's when i started getting the "please will you make a part 2"emails! so, that notebook is quite full as it's been around for a while, and i'm sure it's what has kept me going to follow through with this class! the notebook certainly isn't pretty - there are lots of scribbles, lines drawn through paragraphs of writing, arrows and lines connecting ideas, lots of items with big stars, lots of question marks, post-it notes galore, and lots and lots and lots of lists. i've worked hard to sort all of the "mess", but most recently, i called in my sister, my biz guru, for assistance. it's always helpful to have another set of eyes to help organize and make sense of these sorts things, and she helped me turn my "mess" into a master plan.  together, we worked on getting ALL the info into one neat to-do list. from there, i worked my way down the list. i also began to create the website for the course, write up all of the content of my brain/notebook in an organized way in Word rather than just on paper, i then loaded it up online, and eventually hit publish. yikes. it made my stomach turn upside down to do so, BUT! i am thrilled at your response!  you are jumping in with me and we are going to have SO MUCH FUN painting together this summer! we're gathering quite an amazing group so far - lots of returning students as well as many new-to-me folks... i can't wait to get to know you all and your work! 

so these days, i'm busy behind the scenes getting our virtual classroom and studio tidied up for you! and as i'm getting it all set, i keep coming up with even MORE ideas to add into the course content! luckily, i've been carrying that notebook with me whenever i leave the house, so i've been adding in notes whenever i get the chance. sometimes these "extra" ideas come to me at the most interesting times... in the shower, on the long walks i've been taking with the girls, at 3 am when i'm up with lucy, in the car on the 1/2 hour drive to pick up ada at school... 

perhaps it's that SPRING has finally arrived here in western massachusetts, perhaps it's that i took a much needed maternity leave, perhaps it's those postpartum hormones that make me think i can do things like write books and tackle big projects... 

whatever it is, i'm awfully thankful! it feels SO GOOD when those creative juices are flowing! 

want to paint along with us this summer? time to begin your creative journey?! join in! all the details are over here: www.paintedpagesworkshop.com