Love is Worth the Effort
An intimate exploration of matters of the heart with the brilliant and exciting Juliana Coles
March 28-30, 2008

In Juliana's own words...
Spring is the time for rebirth and renewal: it is the perfect time to join me at Carol Parks' haven of art for this three day, three chapter weekend workshop - a trilogy of introspective Extreme Journalism to thaw us from our winter hibernation and bring new life to our ideas, our creativity, our expression, and the ongoing search for our authentic voice. Let’s open the heart and hear it sing loud and clear through mixed media explorations that combine journal writing with art making. We will awaken our soul from her winter slumber of forgetfulness through the truth and beauty of our inner self dialogue.


The long shadows of winter retreat as we begin our journey of inner warming, self reflection, and unique artistic expression with chapter one... “Lost Love Letters of Montmartre: A Portfolio.”On this first day we will gently awaken our inner voice through the powerful journaling tool of unsent letters. Chapter/day two takes us deeper into our inner quest when we create the “Love Deck”... a unique deck of cards that utilize my mixed media techniques to uncover signs and symbols from the unconscious to use as prompts for our Extreme Visual Journaling process. Chapter/day three we take all that we have learned from our inner journey as we fully awaken the heart to all her longings and desires. This is where we put all of our introspection tools together in one safe place as we discover “Matters of the Heart: Extreme Journalism”.



At Carol’s private studio, we work together in a safe community to share our inner voices with other like minded spirits. This sharing encourages us to articulate our inner journey- a task every journalist must learn to develop. It is in this circle of women that we discover allies and support, as well as our own compassion and forgiveness. It is important to make tangible through verbal discussion what reveals itself in our pages. This allows the information to transform itself from it’s perceived darkness: it must be brought to the light. In our safe community we learn to see ourselves and to become enlightened witnesses for each other. Love is worth the effort!



Supply list for Friday, March 28, “The Lost Love Letters of Montmartre: A Portfolio of Unsent Letters”
• Your favorite supplies or your traveling mixed media tool kit.
• Your favorite glue - I love big UHU gluesticks
• Scissors
• Brushes for your paints
• A rag or two
• A jar for water
• All mail artists should have a set of rubber stamp letters. Search for Parisian, circus or poster style rubber stamp letters, stickers, press on type or any other
cool fonts that bring to life the Montmartre era or feel of the poster as art! And I
highly recommend Staz On stamp pads because we work so quickly.
• You will need acrylic paint- any brand, any color in at least two colors, one light
& one dark.
• At least two brush markers in different colors- black would be good.
• A permanent black marker.
• A graphite pencil- regular old number two is fine, but if you can get to an art store, get an ebony pencil, or a 6B, or a graphite stick (not charcoal) just make sure that you have some wet items and some dry items.
• Collage: Start collecting images of Can Can girls, 1890’s Paris, cafe life, club/night life, exotic erotic images- circus images will work well here too! Half the excitement of artwork is the collecting and research!
• Bring copies of things that are precious, old photographs, old postage, faux postage, postal rubber stamps (postage, cancellations, even travel visa stamps work great for fake postage!) address labels/stickers, rubber stamp letters, old handwritten letters, anything related to letter writing, old sheet music, old book pages or book pages in French, poetry, cards/postcards, mail art, postage, etc. as well as souvenirs!
• You may want small pieces of fabric, some festive trim, ribbon, or fringe to add to the overall exotic effect of the portfolio including gold or gilded items!
For Portfolio:
• You will need 4 record album covers. (Look for something with an interesting or romantic background-these are easy to find at junk/thrift/antique stores as well as used book stores and library sales. Hey, you probably have a bunch yourself! Try your parents or grandparents. Classical and opera records have some beautiful covers!
• You will also need an old looking ribbon or strip of fabric, leather, or trim (collect one, make one or find a ribbon. Tea or coffee stain it to age it) to tie up this precious bundle of lost love letters. Beads, milagros or charm type items to hang from the ribbon will add to the beauty. Remember, this bundle or portfolio is old, tattered, and just recently discovered.


Supply List for Saturday, March 29, “The Love Deck: A Visual Journaling Companion”
• Tools for Self Reflection ( 3’ x 5’ box included- cardstock for cards is thin posterboard which I will supply, or you can use more record album covers for this- you will need 2)
• Two large glue sticks such a UHU or some other high quality brand.
• Your Visual Journal. It is not necessary to buy a new book. Most of us have many journals lying around which we made or were given to us which we have never used or started, wrote three pages, and never went back to. Bring something you have at home. It could be a journal or altered book you are all ready working on, or you may wish to begin a new book as a companion for your Love Deck.
• Your favorite traveling supplies
• Two acrylic paints in any color- one light, one dark
• One brush marker
• One sharpie in black
• One pencil
• Rubber stamp letters or sticker letters, numbers or symbols as patterns (imagine suits of cards)
• A gel pen or poster sharpie to write on dark surfaces, and anything else you gotta have.
• Scissors
• Metal cork backed ruler at least 12 inches
• Self healing cutting board or mat and utility knife
• Imagery: Bring images of a personal nature such as important photos or other papers/ ephemera that speak to you for whatever reason.
• One magazine and one poetry book to cut up
• Please bring copies of anything precious
• You may want fabric, velvet, soft leather, pretty papers, ribbon, or some kind of cool closure to decorate the outside of your box.
• Each student is required to bring a “Mystery Bag.” A plastic grocery bag will do. Some suggestions are collage items, an old paintbrush that is all glued together, that orange paint you hate, stickers from when you were 14, artist tools and supplies you no longer use or never liked, torn up pieces of your artwork that didn’t work (no recognizable artwork, please), books to cut up, magazines, sticks, markers, 2 inch pencils, you get the picture- sort of a grab bag. We will be using these mystery bags as part of our mixed media explorations. What, and how much to bring, is up to you. Don’t worry about trying to include nice things. We’re looking more for garbage items. We already have our own nice supplies. We want your cast offs to really make us think.


Supply List for Sunday, March 30, “Heart Matters: Extreme Visual Journalism"
Visual Journal: A Visual Journal can be an altered book, antique scrapbook, a sketchbook, scroll, record album covers sewn together -anything you want it to be- it is the container for your openness and willingness to explore your heart matters. In this workshop, our emphasis is on process, not product. If you have time, you may desire to make or decorate a book worthy of your Heart Matters. It could be small and tender (not too small), or fat and juicy, or prim and proper, or covered in velvet. It could have red pages, bloody, wounded. It could resemble a teenage diary with lock and key, a glam girl’s secret boudoir, an erotic bordello. Feel free to bring collage images that speak to your heart, for whatever reason. We will create to your heart’s content.

• Bring your favorite supplies or your traveling mixed media tool kit
• Your favorite glue - I love big UHU gluesticks, scissors, some brushes for your paints
• A rag or two
• A jar for water
• All visual journalists should have a set of rubber stamp letters, stickers, press on type or any other cool fonts. And I highly recommend Staz On stamp pads because we work so quickly.
• Acrylic paint- any brand, any color in at least two colors, one light & one dark
• At least two brush markers in different colors- black would be good
• A permanent black marker
• A graphite pencil- regular old number two is fine, but if you can get to an art store get an ebony pencil, or a 6B, or a graphite stick (not charcoal) just make sure that you have some wet items and some dry items.


Please email Julianna if you have any concerns. meandpete@msn.com or call at 505-341-2246.

Three day class price: $625
Early Registration Discount: Register by March 15, 2008 and pay only $375.

Payment via Paypal should be sent to: artfreakzine@yahoo.com
Payment via personal check can be sent to:

Carol Parks
4804 Laurel Canyon Bl. #294
Valley Village, CA 91607

Classes/workshops take place at Carol Parks' NoHo Studios. Location and directions with full class descriptions and materials list will be provided upon registration. Catered meals can be ordered upon request.

Contact Carol for questions, lodging information, and seating availability
prior to sending payments.

Please review Carol Parks' Class Policies.