home school

At the beginning of lockdown it seemed like everyone was focused on learning something. Banana and sourdough bread, painting classes, new languages... people stuck at home wanted something new to occupy their minds.

Japanese vocabulary with Duolingo

During the earlier months wonder | wander | women were focused more on healing and regenerating...stunned by the ravages of the year and getting used to the not-yet-normal, we staggered through the days trying to forge a new routine to anchor us.

Notes from Manga Symposium, July 2019

Learning is one of our passions and we love curator talks, masterclasses, short courses...anything that tickles our brain and gets the neural pathways working. It was learning that slowly helped us register time again, that reminded us the world had not ended.

Notes from illustration and advertising master 
Andrew Loomis: Creative Illustration

Reviewing past lessons peaked our waning interest. We dragged ourselves from doomscrolling and endless repeats of the news cycle and began to search for something to do with our hands that wasn't part of our previous obligations or daily grind.

Notes and exercises from Skillshare class
"Finding Your Color Identity" with Ana Victoria Calderón

Mom is a veteran at adult education but I'm a bit newer to it. I've been blocked on some of my work because I'm struggling with new techniques and finding ways to work faster and more fluidly, especially with digital art, so I'm resetting my process by going "back to school". 

Even techniques we learned in art school can be relearned in new ways, or maybe I'm confident enough now to try things that I was afraid of in university.

Notes for Alphonso Dunn's video
"6 ways to create depth"

A lot of my notes combine visuals and text, especially since they're for art courses. When it comes to theory I lean heavily toward text. I like to think as I write, and write as I listen.

Notes from Domestika course "Architectural Illustration"
with Carlo Stanga

But as a visual artist I learn better when I mix pictures and text. Humour helps too: I illustrate my language notes with pictures that serve as memes, like the cartoons on flash cards.

Duolingo Japanese sample sentences
illustrated with characters from my favourite anime.

There are many free and cheap courses online, and some surprisingly in-depth lessons on YouTube. You can hone existing skills or learn something completely new. We're excited to see what you pick up!

Notes from Body Themes in Manga Art,
Wellcome Library, 3 March 2020