Handmade Sketchbooks & Journals

Handmade Sketchbooks & Journals

Design spiral bound sketchbooks and journals featuring your original artwork on front and back covers. Using fluid acrylic paints and inks, we’ll create permanent, colorful patterns and images inspired by nature on heavy water media paper. Playful ways of mark-making that produce beautiful textures will be demonstrated, along with accessible painting techniques. You will learn how to layer transparent colors to achieve unique results. Determine what size you wish your book(s) to be, and match beautiful decorative papers for the inside face pages. Then select the type of paper for the inside pages. A variety of different weights and colors will be on hand to choose from. Your books will be spiral bound with sturdy coils at the end of the workshop. These keepsake notebooks can be used for artwork, journaling, guestbooks, cookbooks, or whichever way you may wish to personalize them. Bring a lunch, all materials are included

About Margaret

Margaret Dwyer holds a BFA and MFA in visual art. She has a passion for watercolor, her primary medium for the past 45 years. Her paintings have been recognized in numerous national and international juried exhibitions. Images of her watercolors have they been featured in fine art books and magazines that include: “Splash, America’s Best Watercolors “- (North Light Books) “How Did You Paint That?”- (International Artist Books) “American Artist Magazine” “The Artist’s Magazine” “Southwest Art Magazine” “Manhattan Arts Magazine” Margaret recently served 3 years as the artist in residence at MBR National Historical Park in Woodstock VT. She has decades of professional experience teaching watercolor throughout New England and has facilitated watercolor workshops for the Maine Art Education Association at Haystack in Deer Isle ME, and Monson Arts.

Currently, she teaches and demonstrates watercolor for art centers and galleries on the seacoast of ME, NH, & MA. Through a deep exploration of both materials and themes, her imagery reflects an emotional connection with nature, water, and the wonder found in the everyday. Margaret loves to develop experimental watercolor techniques. Her clean, vibrant paintings often combine unconventional methods with traditional ones, branding her work with a unique style. “Being willing to respond to your painting during the process rather than forcing it to conform to a preconceived outcome makes a big difference with this incredible medium. Opening the world of watercolor to people has been and continues to be a purposeful mission for me. Ideas and artistic methods are constantly in motion in my studio, and it is a joy to share that with others.”