21 SECRETS Teacher Bios

Published on November 14, 2011

(To learn what each teacher is teaching & to register GO HERE)

Hi! I’m Aimee, and I love to ﬁddle around with doodles, color and words. My professional background is in retail buying, product development, and marketing — all experiences that gradually prodded me to dig into my neglected creative side and ﬁnd out what was in there. A few years ago, I started a blog as a dumping ground for my experiments, and found that the daily practice of making something brought me a satisfaction and happiness that took me by surprise — I assumed the urge would run its course, and I’d be bored with it quickly. But the more I experimented, the more I posted, the more I mined my everyday moments for creative fodder, the more I found myself wanting to create. And during that process, though I didn’t realize it until much later, doing those daily experiments helped me bring together the pieces of myself that I had always compartmentalized. Writing was always in one folder, color experiments in another; emotions in one safety deposit box, dreams in another; and so on. Creating every day encouraged me –forced me, really — to stick it all in a mixing bowl and put it on high. So what started as a lark has wound up being an essential part of my life. I can’t ever imagine looking back now.

ALMA STOLLER

Alma Stoller is a multi-media artist living in New York City. Her work has been published in Cloth Paper Scissors and Somerset Studio magazines and she was featured on (HGTV) The Home and Garden channel. She loves to create colorful art quilts, mixed media portraits, painted embroidery pieces called Glossies and creative tutorials. She loves peppermint tea, Little House on the Prairie, all things densely embellished, neon pink and 80s pop music.

CHRISTINE MASON MILLER

Christine Mason Miller is a Santa Monica based writer and artist who has been creating, writing and exploring ever since she was a little girl. Her mission to inspire has provided the foundation for all of her creative work; the desire to encourage others to pursue their passions and create a meaningful life is the common thread throughout an expansive body of work that includes mixed media collage, commercial illustration, photography, writing, teaching and
speaking.

Christine’s art and writing gives viewers a peek into a variety of details from her life, details that grab her attention on journeys around the world as well as within her own self. Using materials as varied as acrylic paints, ink, coffee, mannequins, vintage photographs and other ephemera, Christine’s creations are full of color, texture and hidden stories.

Her latest book ~ Desire to Inspire: Using Creative Passion to Transform the World ~ was recently published by North Light Books.

CHRISTY TOMLINSON

Christy Tomlinson is a mixed media artist who has no boundaries when it comes to creative art play! She loves mixing all types of mediums in her art..from wax mediums to cloth projects, jewelry play to sewing techniques .. she loves creating just about anything, though her one true love is creating with paint and paste mediums on canvas! Christy’s latest adventure has been teaching online classes to thousands of students all over the world through her blog and personal website. She recently started licensing her art designs onto fabric, dishes, wall-art, home decor and more! Christy has been in the art industry for over 10 years: first working for a papercrafting manufacturer, Chatterbox, and then for Scrapbooks Etc. Better Homes and Garden Magazine as an contributing editor. She has traveled and taught her art throughout the United States, Canada, Brazil, and even South Africa. She has been asked to come this following year and teach in Israel, Germany, Italy and Sweden. Besides creating art full time, she and her husband also own two online stores: Scarlet Lime, which is a mixed media/papercrafting website and Scarlet Lime BeadArt which carries pre-designed jewelry kits that christy and her husband design and package. Christy also loves social media both through her blog and facebook. She uses both as a way to share her art , offer tutorials and just her everyday life story to thousands of followers daily. She feels blessed to be able to create art and support her family at the same time.

CONNIE HOZVICKA

Connie Hozvicka is a FEARLESS™ Painter, Yogini and also the founder and director of 21 SECRETS. Through her FEARLESS™ Painting workshops, retreats, mentoring, and soon to launch FEARLESS™ Painting Teacher Training Program, Connie awakens FEARLESS™ creativity in women all over the world while helping them trust ruthlessly in their innate wisdom and grow confidant as Artists. She lives a few inches under the sun in Arizona with her beloved husband Hansel, sweetie pie dog Nyla, and two mellow kitties Theo and Noche. She is also currently pregnant with her first child she affectionately calls “Gummi”, due to arrive in May 2012 to a home full of love, paint, and laughter.

DALE ANNE POTTER

I am Dale Anne Potter, a Positive Thinking, Inspired, Textile Mixed Media artist who lives in a small town in SW Saskatchewan.

I make Art because it brings me JOY every day!!!

I am inspired everyday by the world around me — nature, its textures, rhythms and colours, the materials at hand, fabrics, paper, found objects, and the movement of life — provides me with the ideas and enthusiasm to create new work. I teach workshops in my small town, your town or city or online, from Beginner Quilting to Mixed Media and everything in between.

My artwork has been exhibited locally in Morse and Swift Current; nationally in Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario; as well as internationally in Florida, California, Wisconsin, Vermont, and Washington. My artwork is in private & corporate collections in the US, Australia, Germany, England, Spain, as well as in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Canada.

DIANA TROUT

Artist, author and teacher, Diana Trout, lives and works just outside of Philadelphia. She has been sharing her passion for art journaling, book arts and painting since 1993, teaching from her studio, at art retreats, libraries and art centers and online.

“I am passionate about making art and about encouraging my students to live a life filled with wonder. Creating art can be an accessible, enjoyable hobby and you don’t have to be an ‘Artist’ to do it.

My mission is to educate and pass on my storehouse of ideas and techniques to guide you along your path of strengthening creativity. It seems that I’ve gained wisdom and insight into dealing with my critical left-brain. I pass this on to my students.”

Diana’s work and writing has been published in various magazines.

DINA WAKLEY

Howdy…I am Dina Wakley and I live in sunny Arizona with my husband and 3 boys. I grew up in Ohio, Michigan, and England, so it has taken me awhile to get used to desert living. I love absolutely everything about art. I love looking at it, I love thinking about it, I love teaching it, I love creating it. I started scrapbooking in 1995, and that evolved to stamping, and then to art journaling and mixed media art. My studio is an utter mess, but I love it and it’s where I spend most of my time. My family teases me because there is paint on everything I own…including the steering wheel of my van, my clothes, my sewing machine, and even my camera!

A little bit more about my “professional” life: I make scrapbooking projects for Maya Road and Jenni Bowlin Studios. I have a line of stamps, available through Stampington. I love to teach, it is a passion of mine! I teach both online and in-person workshops. I’m a docent (tour guide) at the Phoenix Art Museum where I give tours to school kids and get them excited about art.

DION DIOR

A fulltime, mother, artist, writer, and teacher (not necessarily in that order), Dion was born and raised by the ocean in Australia. She grew up alongside three very talented and vivacious siblings, each with their own unique potential. Dion graduated from Swinburne Institute of Technology and spent several jam-packed decades working and travelling the world as a woman alone, exploring, sketching and writing about her life-changing experiences. She met her husband on the roof of the world, trekking to Mt Everest Base Camp. They now share their love of adventure with their two wild and crazy children. Far from her homeland down-under, she now lives in rural Iowa where her attempts at growing a veggie garden have been disastrous. Dion’s work, known for its color and vibrancy, is held in private collections around the world and her journals and sketchbooks, filled with luscious, shimmering pages, are treasured expressions of her endless adventures and experiences.

GINA ROSSI ARMFIELD

Gina Rossi Armfield is a painter and photographer whose greatest loves have always been family, animals, b/w photography and painting. Gina received her degrees in Fine Art and Education from CSUN. She resides with her husband, two sons, and many furry critters in Southern California.

JANE DAVENPORT

Jane Davenport is an internationally exhibited and licensed artist, award winning author and avid journaler with her own Gallery in Byron Bay, Australia. Jane’s incredibly popular online creativity and drawing schools are places where creative courage roams free. You can expect lots of naughty fun from the girl with the nickname of ‘Danger’ and who believes art, just like life, doesn’t have to be serious to be meaningful!

JULIE FEI-FAN BALZER

Julie Fei-Fan Balzer is a self-taught mixed media collage artist and avid scrapbooker. She has been making art for as long as she can remember and loves the process of creating. “I believe that mistakes are creative opportunities and hold fast to the notion that enjoyment of the process is just as important as the finished product! I like tothink outside of the box — experimenting with paper, paint, and fabric— always trying to find a way to push my supplies further and see allthe possibilities.”

Julie has been published in many magazines including Cloth Paper Scissors, Quilting Arts, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes & Gardens’ Scrapbooks Etc., Memory Makers, Scrapbook Trends, Somerset Memories, Somerset Digital, scrapbooking m.m. (Sweden), Scrapbooking & Beyond, Simple Scrapbooks, Histories de Pages (France), books by Leisure Arts, F&W Publications, and Quarry (upcoming), as well as multiple e-zines. Julie is currently the co-host of Scrapbook Soup TV (PBS) and has appeared several times on Quilting Arts TV (PBS) and hosted the “Artist to Artist” segment on Scrapbook Memories TV (PBS). She will also be appearing on the upcoming season of Crafting at The Spotted Canary (PBS). Julie’s hour long instructional DVD “Collage Fast &; Furious” was released in July 2010 by Interweave. She will have two more hour long instructional DVDs released by Interweave in 2012.

Julie and her husband live in a tiny apartment with a big art studio in the middle of New York City.

KATHRYN ANTYR

Kathryn Antyr (also known as the Collage Diva) is an artist, educator, and web professional whose work focuses on the expressive and contemplative arts. Kathryn explores her inner landscape of ideas and feelings using collage, mixed media painting, photography, and creative journal keeping. She founded True North Arts to share her creativity and guide others on a journey of the heart. Kathryn’s workshops are designed to awaken your spirit, inspire you to play, and offer you an opportunity to look within to discover your true self and true path.

KELLY BARTON

Kelly Barton is a mixed media artist and graphic designer who brings sass to her home base of middle Indiana. Most days you will find her in the studio with music playing and colors flying. She is inspired by the inner-workings of a girl’s nutty mind and believes that growing up girl is enough inspiration for any artist. Kelly’s creations can bring out the joyful rebel in any person or space. Kelly created Kelly Barton Art +Design to remind people that we’re all connected, and because she believes we all need a bit of happy.

KEN ROBERT

Ken Robert is the creator of MildlyCreative.com where he writes about lessons learned from his own creative journey. He writes poetry, draws black ink portraits, has recently taken up photography, and is never quite sure where he’s going to wind up next.

MARTHA LEVER

My name is Martha Lever and I am a calligrapher, letter designer, painter and mixed-media artist. I love it all!! I really do. If I am not creating something, my hands get very restless and I start to sweat and foam at the mouth. Yes, I am addicted to creating art! I have a degree in education and I have always loved to teach. I love to show people whether children or “adult children” how to create things whether it’s calligraphy, watercolor or acrylics.

Ok, so just a bit more about me, I am a southern girl from Georgia but I live in the sunny state of Florida. I have a wonderful hubby and a precious Corgi named Bucky. If you take any of my online classes you will always hear him bark. I also have two children and two grandchildren. I also have a studio called the Red Door Art Studio that is a 1922 bungalow where I create until my heart’s content. It’s my own grown up playhouse. I started my art journey 30 years ago with my first calligraphy class and never stopped creating art and never plan to stop unless, of course, something stops me. But like Scarlet, I’ll think about that tomorrow.

NATASHA REILLY

Natasha is a writing, arting cart-wheeler surfing wild waves of words and color that crash along the sands of her soul. As the founder of Creative Nachos – a playground draped in writing and art – she uses an innovative and intuitive approach to assist people in becoming true storytellers. Privately, Natasha works with clients to help them find their inner cartwheel and teaches imaginative workshops where people are invited to strip away self-imposed boundaries in order to become limitless creative beings. A contributor to the inspiring Show See Share, Natasha helps people to share their stories in ways that inspire themselves and the world-at-large.

Having published original pieces in national publications such as Family Circle and Latina, online venues such as Mediabistro, Dirty Footprints Studio, Studio Margot and Lifetips, physical spaces such as the Library of Congress and having designed delicious, art journal-esque sketchbooks for the Sketchbook Project 2011 and 2012, she believes it’s now time to finish an original, limit-pushing novel and invite even more people bring their creative dreams to life.

NOLWENN PETITBOIS

I am a self-taught Mixed Media artist. I came to Mixed Media because I could not decide on only one medium to use for what I create and it makes me feel more free to experience whatever my heart feels called to.

My artwork usually represents powerful whimsical women (my Nixies) who have a strong positive message to deliver to the Universe, to you. I believe in the power of Positive Affirmations and of Gratitude, that both guide me all along in my creative process. I guess I am an eternal learner, I love to unravel new ways to make my path lighter and stronger. Healing is a huge part of my life, I am now also a Practical Reiki Master and I noticed how it shfted the way I do my paintings and my journaling.

But before discovering this, I started with Art Journaling. This is where my Soul soars and lets go of everything and anything. This is how I heal. This is where my Nixies were born at first… My Art Journal is the only place I feel safe to tell my Story the way I want, with words, with images, combined or not. My Art Journal is my sacred temple.

TRACI BUNKERS

Traci Bunkers, author of “The Art Journal Workshop” and “Print & Stamp Lab,” is a passionate mixed-media & fiber artist who loves rusty things, glitter glue, old books to cut up and cheap cameras. Since making her own books and art journaling have been a long time passion of hers, she always feels better after getting her art on by slapping some paint down and working in her journal. Through her one-woman business Bonkers Handmade Originals, she sells her nifty creations such as hand-dyed spinning fibers and yarns, original rubber stamps, handmade books, kits and original artwork. She has been teaching workshops across the US since the early 90s and has branched out into online workshops.

TRACIE HANSON

I’m a transplanted Texan, now living in sunny Southern California. (I regret losing my southern drawl – it used to get me so much attention.)

I’ve taken the long route to becoming an artist – stints in archaeology, geology, banking, gallery co-owning, television advertising and real estate make me either a person of varied interests …. or one lacking in focus and direction. I prefer to think I’m “colorful” and “well-rounded”!

I’m married to the long awaited love of my life, Derek, and we share our lives with his two growing “artful goddesses” and a dog named “Flea”. They are all teaching me much about art making and living juicy!

ZOM OSBORNE

Zom Osborne is a traditionally trained fine artist. She works mainly in oils and drawing, although she has also used watercolours, coloured pencil, pastel, acrylics and various mixed media. Zom is an experienced teacher. Most recently she has been leading workshops in creativity, and has had an ongoing weekly art journaling class for the past 3 years.

“I tell my students that I am an artist who teaches, rather than a teacher who creates art. This is so they won’t have expectations that I know the ‘right’ way and am going to tell them how to do things. We are on an exploration of creativity together. I may have a little more experience in the journey but we are going somewhere new.”

TO VISIT EACH ARTIST’S WEBSITE PLEASE CLICK ON THEIR NAME.