The Portable Practice™ is a 2-hour online mixed-media workshop where we’ll write, paint, layer, and make art together.
I’ll guide you through my Write, Shmear & Shape™ method from beginning to end, so when you sit down to create, you know what to do first and how to keep going.
You’ll begin a real piece during the workshop and experience the full process for yourself, so you can come back to it again on your own.
The next time you have an hour to yourself and want to make something, you won’t have to invent a whole creative practice from scratch. You’ll already have one.
IT’S EASY
FOR YOUR OWN ART
TO KEEP GETTING
PUSHED ASIDE.
You may have the journals, the supplies, the saved ideas, and every intention of getting back to it.
But somehow, everything else gets there first.
There’s always something else to finish, someone else who needs you, or a day that gets away from you before you ever make it to the page.
And after a while, starting can feel harder than it should.
The Portable Practice™ gives you a simple way to sit down, begin, and actually make something without having to figure out the whole process every time.
There’s something about the energy of a workshop - whether you’re joining me LIVE or pressing play on the replay - that helps you stop thinking about making art and actually start making it. And sometimes we just need a little extra nudge to begin.
🎨 The Portable Practice™ 2-Hour Online Workshop
Create alongside me as I guide you through the full Write, Shmear & Shape™ process.
🎨 Workshop Replay
Come back and create with me again anytime
.
🎨 The Portable Practice™ Guide
Follow the process again without having to remember every step.
🎨 To Life! A Creative Companion for The Portable Practice™
Seven creative doorways you can use whenever you want a new way into your next page.
🎨 Painted Prayers: A Guided Creative Activation
A guided practice to help you slow down, write, and find a starting point for your art.
🎨 Founding Bonus: Personal Art Reflection from Marina
Send me a photo of your piece and I’ll personally reflect back what I notice
.
READY TO MAKE SOME ART?
Join The Portable Practice™ ☺️🎨
Do I have to attend live?
Nope! I’d love to have you there, but you’ll also get the workshop replay so you can come back and create with me in your own time. I’ll edit the replay to trim out pauses and anything you don’t need, so you can get right to the good stuff and make the most of your time.
What if I’m not an “artist”?
Perfect. You don’t need any special skill or experience. This is about making, playing, and getting back into the creative process - not making something perfect, or commerical.
Maybe you call yourself an artist. Maybe you’re more of a “crafts person.” Maybe you don’t use either word. All good! :))
Just come make something, play a little, and have a wonderfully artful day with me.
What supplies do I need?
Use what you already have. But if you can get these supplies, I HIGHLY recommend them: acrylic paint in assorted colors, at least the basics and more if you have them, white gesso, paintbrushes, colorful markers for writing and making your inner child happy (Crayola, scented markers, whatever makes you smile :)) and Caran d’Ache Neocolor watercolor crayons.
Black gesso is optional, but SO good to have for the inverse painting technique we’ll use.
You’ll also need a surface that can handle paint and moisture, like mixed-media paper, canvas, or primed art journal pages.
A complete supply list will be sent after you register.
Is this art journaling?
Sort of! I mean, it can be, but it isn’t only that.
Inspired by the Cosmic Smashbook™ practice, we’ll start with writing, then paint, layer, scribble, and follow what comes up.
You can take the process anywhere. That’s the “portable” part :)) Use it in an art journal, on mixed-media paper, canvas, a mural, furniture, or whatever surface is calling you. Think of it as a wellspring for mixed-media art.
The point isn’t to make an “art journal page.” It’s to move through creative resistance, get into the painting, and follow your vision as it reveals itself.
We’ll draw on cosmic and seasonal inspiration, start with journaling, and let the rest become whatever it wants to be.
What if I’ve taken one of Marina’s workshops before?
Come again! The process is designed to meet you where you are, and what you make can be different each time.
© 2026 Studio Art Heart LLC. All rights reserved.