Yes, it’s free.

It seems these days one has to spell it out in capital letters or mention it over and over….

FREE… FREE… FREE…

…and then still somehow get misunderstood or frowned upon.

In my last blog I shared with you the 21 Secrets Color, Color, Color! Fall 2016 Workshop at which I am a teacher and offered you the chance to receive one of these workshop packages valued at US $98 for … FREE.

I can give away two workshop packages at my own discretion to whomever I like. And I decided to offer this to my valuable supporters who follow my blog. By the way, I could have also just decided to gift them to my two best artist buddies as birthday gifts. 😉

Reminder:

All you have to do, to stand a chance of receiving one of two FREE workshops, is to subscribe to my blog, or if you already are a subscriber, write a comment on my blog, stating that you are interested in the workshops. If you like more privacy, you can even send me an email, as long as you are a subscriber to my blog. Deadline is the 18^th of September and I will announce the two winners here on my blog in the week thereafter.

Have a look at the official workshop page to see what is on offer! Just click on this picture:

From the mixed reactions I got, I guess something was not clear.

Some told me: This sounds fantastic, but I cannot afford it.

Really? Which part is not affordable? The FREE part? Taking a chance on winning? Or can’t you afford to leave a comment on my blog, or subscribe to my blog (which is the one favour I am asking in return, in order to be considered for my free gift)?

Others told me something in the line of: Oh, you just want to promote yourself… I am not going to share this or support you.

Hmmm, now, let me put it to you like this: YES, I do want to promote myself. But actually this was more about offering you the opportunity to get a FREE inspirational workshop to learn new skills. Remember I could have just given it to my buddies, who would have loved such a gift.

So just that you understand the thing of artists and promotion:

Unfortunately in this reality, artists have to do self-promotion in order to survive. We seldom have the luxury of a gallery or agent to do it for us. As an artist, I have my artwork, my experience and my knowledge to offer (and earn my money with). Most of that I generally offer for free most of the time. I generously share my artwork, creativity and experience and knowledge on various social media in order to inspire, uplift, entertain, delight or question. Everybody has access to it, without needing to pay or even say thank you.

And I am happy to share as much as I can, as generously as I can.

It might surprise you, but I, too, have to pay rent, buy food and pay for my medical aid, amongst others.

I can only pay my bills and make an honest living with the artworks I sell, or offering my expertise and experience. And in order to do that, I need people to know about my art and offerings. Ideally I need to have many people who know about my art… because not everyone either likes or buys an artwork or would participate in a workshop, or be willing to pay for my expertise.

That is the (sad?) reality of being an artist. We can only survive and keep on creating and sharing, if we put a lot of effort into promoting ourselves.

If more of the people, friends or blog or Facebook followers who enjoy my art and who find inspiration, solace or joy in what I have to offer, would tell their friends about it, then I could focus more on creating and sharing my art for free, than into promotion and marketing.

Instead I spend hours trying to make my offerings exciting and worthwhile AND then trying to promote my work as best I can.  I also take on opportunities where I can share my expertise in a workshop, get paid for it and have the possibility of earning a commission on any sales generated through my small community. I assume that is acceptable practice?

You might have also noticed, that I am always trying to offer some value in return. Like, hey, I am giving away stuff to the value of US $196 for free! All I am asking in return, is to follow my blog (so that you can receive more news and offerings from me and get to know me and my art better) and you can un-subscribe with one easy click at any time you like.

OK, now that I have finished ranting, I hope you are still interested to find out more about the workshop. I did not want to drown you in information in my previous blog, so here is a bit more detailed information about what you can expect to learn, when you either are selected as one of the two lucky recipients of the workshop, or even are willing to invest the US $98 in yourself and buy the package.

Since you are a follower of my blog, you might be most interested what you will be learning from me specifically?

The title of the course, which I am presenting for the 21 Secrets Color, Color, Color! Workshop is:

And here is the short description, which I wrote about the contents of my course:

What colour is the rain?
Red is life. Or is it death?
Why are we drawn to one colour and hate the other?

I welcome you on a colourful journey to reconnect with the ancient wisdom and power of colour. Discover the magic, myths, symbolism and effects behind the individual colours, create your personal colour reference guide with the ‘Colour a Day’ exercise and gain a deeper understanding how you can select and use colours for specific intention and purpose in your journal and life.

I will also share with you how colour is understood and used in Feng-Shui and in the seven main Chakras (energy centres) of the body. For the workshop I have compiled a lot of written content, fun and interesting exercises and 3 videos, where I share many thought-provoking aspects about color.

This is only my part. And that is not all! By far!

There are 23 more amazing courses prepared by 23 wonderfully inspiring and creative artists from around the world.

Just as some examples: Tori Weyers will teach you to tango with colour (Color Tango: Make your Colors Dance) while Mystele Kirkeeng will take you on an exploration of the colour of skin (Flesh in Living Color), she says: “When you really, really explore skin tones with color media, it becomes increasingly apparent how ridiculous it is that we still attempt to label the races monochromatically.“

You can learn how to easily create watercolour sunsets with Lorraine Bell or test the benefits of a limited palette and how to use it to your advantage from Jeanne Oliver.

Connie Solera, the founder and director of this incredible 21 Secrets workshop series, will teach you how to boldly overcome the point where you are too scared to continue as you fear you are messing up your artwork, but know that it is not finished yet.

As you can see, there are many interesting, fun and stimulating courses for you to explore.

If you do not know me yet, here is a short description of who I am:

“Can we create rain through a creative process?” This question, together with my deep-seated curiosity, interest in shamanism and alternative worldviews and stubborn insistence that we can make the world a better place have guided my journey as a multi-passionate creative being. I love uncovering the deeper meanings and mysteries of life and figuring out how everything is connected.

I am a Namibian multi-media artist, rainmaker and curator. I grew up in the desert of Namibia and since 2010 I am splitting my time between my home country and Germany, between the desert and the forest. I have completed my Bachelors Degree in Visual Arts at the University of South Africa and have won Namibia’s most influential art competition, the Standard Bank Namibia Biennale, twice.

My artistic expression is versatile, with a strong attraction towards nature and land art. I also enjoy sharing the joy of creativity with others, through joined projects, workshops, interventions in public spaces and via my blog.

I am excited to welcome you on a joint exploration of the stories, symbolism and effects behind the colours we use to paint the stories of our lives.

(You can find similar course descriptions and artist introductions from all other 23 courses in this package in the link to the course.)

Curious?

Well, you know what to do. I hope.
If not, you are welcome to ask!