Today: My favorite online classes.

I spend a lot of time in schools for work, which often makes me miss… being in school.  It also probably explains why I’ve had a cold for six months.  I’m pretty sure I always loved being a student.  Even in middle school, when I had a broken ankle and braces and glasses and an uggo haircut all at the same time.

By the time I made it to college, got my math requirement out of the way (dark times), and had the freedom and flexibility to take classes that actually interested me… that’s when things got really good.  I studied French and Fine Arts, which means I did a lot of reading, a lot of writing, a lot of memorizing facts, a lot of dissecting other people’s artwork, and a tiny bit of drawing.  I went to museums and starred at microfiche.  I learned how to translate contracts, took a semester of Arabic, recited poems, and yes… performed a puppet show in Medieval French (probably both the worst and best moment of my years at BC).

As grown ups, there are plenty of opportunities to take classes in person (the BCAE comes to mind), but I really love the flexibility of online classes.  Here are a few of my favorites for those of you looking to infuse a bit of creativity into your day.  Or night.  Or train commute.  Or whatev.

Nicole’s Classes

You may remember my posts from last winter (here and here) when I took the Floral Arranging 101 class through Nicole’s Classes.  While I worked quite a bit while I was on maternity leave, I also found myself with both time to fill (namely, those 2 hour stints when Grace was sound asleep… and yes, I know, sleep when the baby sleeps) and a desire to keep my brain as engaged as possible.

 Their classes include photography, design, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign, and each class runs live for 2-4 weeks.  For the 4 week floral arranging class, for example, we worked through one lesson and assignment each week.  What sets Nicole’s Classes apart, is that it is an app that you download and install on your computer.  Within the app, you’ll find the course(s) that you registered for, video lessons and a gallery to share your course work.  There is a high level of engagement in these galleries from both instructors and classmates, and I found the feedback on each project I posted to be so helpful.  

Classes range from $125-325, but there is also a lot of great free content on the Nicole’s Classes website, including these great tutorials.

Craftsy

I’m currently taking a self-paced DSLR basics class on Craftsy.  They roped me in with a New Year’s sale– I believe I paid $25 for Basics of Digital Photography, which includes 9 lessons and hours and hours of video instruction.  After years of shooting in manual (and… having lost my camera manual, despite downloading it, like, six times), I am trying to step up my game a bit.

In addition to photography classes, Craftsy has self-paced classes in:

• Art (painting, drawing)
• Cake decorating
• Food and cooking
• Home and garden
• Jewelry
• Paper crafts
• Yarn and fiber arts

All classes are web-based, and you can jump back into your lesson whenever you have time.  I’ve found the class to be very user-friendly and love that, like Nicole’s Classes, there is a lot of interaction with other students and the instructor (there is a chat area on the class’ home screen) and a dedicated project gallery for the class.

Craftsy also features a community marketplace where you can buy patterns from independent designers, view projects from other classes and read articles on their blog (two recent posts: create a custom wirework heartbeat necklace and vegan caesar salad with roasted chickpeas and almonds).

Alisa Burke online classes

Alisa Burke is one of my go-to ladies for creative inspiration.  Her classes are fun, accessible and inexpensive and cover everything from technique (lots of watercolor and ink), to sketching prompts, to sourcing unexpected tools and materials. 

Alisa releases new classes each season (many of them with seasonal themes such as summer sketching) and each class includes video lessons, text and visual examples.  While most of her classes are for visual artists (of all levels, truly), she also offers several classes for those who own creative businesses.  

Oh, and her blog is definitely worth a visit — lots of stunning photography of the West Coast, tutorials, family art-making, interviews with other artists, etc.

Recommended reading

If an online class isn’t in the cards, here are a few of my favorite books that might help you make room for creativity:

• The Artful Parent: Simple Ways to Fill Your Family’s Life with Art and Creativity by Jan Van’t Hull
• Modern Calligraphy: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started in Script Calligraphy by Molly Suber Thorpe
• Make and Give: Simple and Modern Crafts to Brighten Each Day by Steph Hung and Erin Jang 

You know what they say.  You’re never too old to get an awful middle school haircut to learn.

Also On Tap for Today:

• Whipping up a batch of these pea and pesto quinoa patties for me and Baby Grace
• How to pick the best board game for any situation via Lifehacker
• Packing for a little work travel.. JK that can wait until the last minute

Have you ever taken an online class?  Favorites/Wish list classes?