Join me in developing a consistent drawing practice, finding your artistic voice, and creating a body of work that's unique to you!
Cultivate Creativity & Inspiration
Through Monthly live lectures and exercises on the creative process, finding your unique artistic voice, composition, and more
Inspirational drawings added every week to the community forum
Monthly readings on creativity and the creative process, to stay inspired and motivated
Weekly studio updates from Marina: I share my processes, mindset, challenges and wins of developing new work
Support, Community & Accountability
Through Weekly live check-in & goal-setting sessions: learn how to set constructive goals for creative work and stay on track
Monthly Strategy Sessions: plan your drawing projects, talk through your first or next steps, or simply get some encouragement!
A personalized drawing critique per month with Marina (usually $67!) This can be about creativity, technique, or both.
Community forum: a place to post progress and challenges to get support with
Drawing Technique & Experimentation
Access all foundational drawing courses in my Drawing Decoded program (usually $29/month)
Monthly experimental drawing prompts help you expand your drawing practice, think about drawing in new ways, keep momentum going, and keep things fresh and fun in the studio!
*The drawing on the left took less than a minute! Learn how in Experimental Drawing Prompt #1
Navigating the Creative Process
The creative process can be remarkably exciting and fulfilling. It's truly amazing to look at something you've made, and feel that it's an extension of yourself.
But ... creativity also comes with its challenges!
Different questions, insecurities, and limiting beliefs can come up at different stages of the creative process.
These can stop us from getting started, or from having the consistency to continue or complete a project (preventing so much joy and fulfillment!)
These are all normal parts of the creative journey, but without the right support, they can stop us in our tracks.
Other questions that come up in the creative process are:
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What should I make?
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Who am I as an artist?
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How do I make this? How do I accomplish it technically?
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Is this the right project to start?
Let's navigate these questions together in the Creative Drawing Studio!
Monthly Schedule:
Week 1 of each month:
- Creativity Lecture (Live)
- Weekly Check-In & Goal-Setting (Live)
Week 2 of each month:
- Experimental Drawing Prompt
- Weekly Check-In & Goal-Setting (Live)
Week 3 of each month:
- Strategy Session: Planning & Moving Forward in Your Projects (Live)
- Weekly Check-In & Goal-Setting (Live)
Week 4 of each month:
- Reading on Creativity and the Creative Process
- Weekly Check-In & Goal-Setting (Live)
Any time during the month:
- Your personalized drawing critique with Marina: this can be about the creative process, drawing technique, or both! You can submit a drawing for review, or simply ask questions)
- Post progress and/or challenges in the community forum
Student Experiences in the Creative Drawing Studio:
“You're opening up different neural pathways and different ways of thinking for me. It's way more than I thought, it's amazing.” -Christine C.
“This is so much more than I hoped it would be. So often you get so much technical information, and then some very superficial input on creativity that's almost meme quality. But you're giving me a dialogue that I can internalize, look at my art and what I'm creating and what other people are creating, and find myself in it all. I wasn't expecting that. I didn't realize that's what I was looking for. I knew I wanted to study creativity and become inspired, but I didn't realize how excited I would get by it.” -Sandra W.
"I just wanted to share that when I was drawing squiggles, trying to loosen up, I found that one squiggle led to another, then another and another. After 30 minutes I had drawn one that I really liked and realized that my creativity has been buried for a long long time. I didn’t really think of myself as creative, but when you said I was, something began to loosen up. I realize it is what makes me happy and I would so like to have it in my life again! You are a rock star! -Nancy S.
Who is the Creative Drawing Studio for?
This membership is for you if you want to ...
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develop an enjoyable, consistent drawing practice,
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find your unique creative voice,
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develop a body of work,
- make work that feels authentically like your own.
I’m doing this right along with you, working through the wins and challenges of developing new work, and sharing my process and mindset with you - unfiltered!
Students currently in the program are at different stages in their creative development:
-Some have been working on creating independent, personal work for a little while
-Others are just starting to find and develop their unique creative voice
-And some are just starting to learn to draw and work on their technical skills, but they’re wanting to cultivate their creativity as they develop their technique.
Wherever you are in your journey, you’ll find kindred spirits and resources to support you with your creative goals. And of course, I (Marina) will be there to cheerlead you and guide you as well!
Who You'll Be Working With
Hi there! I'm Marina.
I'm a professional visual artist, arts educator, former Tenure-Track college professor of visual arts, and Founder (or 'Drawing Source'ress') of TheDrawingSource.com
In my creative practice these days, I create 'drawing installations': large-scale drawings that transform a space, such as the one below. (Yes, entirely hand-drawn using charcoal on white paper!)
Below: finishing a drawing of Charon, Pluto's largest moon (timelapse video)
About Marina
Marina Fridman (BFA, MFA) is a visual artist, arts educator, and author (or Drawing Source'ress!) of The Drawing Source.
As an educator of visual arts, Marina held a Tenure-Track Instructor position at Northwestern Polytechnic in Alberta, Canada before leaving to focus on developing The Drawing Source. She immensely enjoys distilling complex drawing concepts into steps that are easy to understand and put into practice, and considers herself successful when her students increase both their skills and their enjoyment of the drawing process.
Marina holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture and Dimensional Studies from Alfred University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
She is a three-time recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Grant, an Edmonton Arts Council Grant in 2021, a Canada Council for the Arts Grant in 2020, the Manifest ONE Prize in 2019, and an Honorable Mention in the International Sculpture Center’s Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award in 2018.
Frequently Asked Questions
"Do I have to participate in all of the membership activities?"
Not at all, you're welcome to participate in any of the components that you find most helpful. Join them all, or select the ones that resonate most with you.
Maybe you're mostly drawn to the accountability and goal-setting components. Maybe you want to make use of the entire membership. It's completely up to you.
"What if I'm only interested in the Drawing Decoded courses, the personalized monthly drawing critique from you, and the weekly goal-setting/accountability components of the program?"
Perfect! You're welcome to focus on those components and leave the rest (or return to them later if you choose).
"What if I'm already in Drawing Decoded?"
No problem, we'll just need to switch your subscription, because you'll have access to the Drawing Decoded courses in the Creative Drawing Studio.
You can cancel Drawing Decoded and sign up for the Creative Drawing Studio, or simply reach out to me (Marina) at [email protected] for some help with that.
"What if I'm still working on technique and don't feel ready to dive into more creative drawing?"
I can absolutely understand why you would think that technique needs to come first. I used to think so myself!
I suggest reading this article on Creativity vs. Technique: What's more important?
The short version is: because technique and creativity inform each other, in my opinion it's best to develop them simultaneously.
When I started my artistic education, I was immersed in technique for a long time before attempting to develop my creative voice, and I wish that I had been taught how to cultivate my creativity earlier on, because the creative process takes practice, just like our technical skills!