Questions about CAMP? Find the answers here!
CAMP by JoeGirl® is an online membership site, open to anybody looking to invite more Creative Awakenings, Mindfulness + Play into their lives. It’s a source of monthly inspirational content like: video lessons, live classes, demonstrations, guest contributors, performances, guided meditations, podcasts, conversations, printable calendars, colouring pages, challenges, and so much more!
Your CAMP Director is Joanne T. Lauzon—an artist + creative play coach in Ottawa, Canada. Joanne is passionate about inspiring joyful living through creative play, and is determined to demonstrate that we are all creative. You can learn about Joanne, see her artwork, learn about her coaching, and checkout other products + services, over at www.joegirl.com
Absolutely not! The only pre-requisite is that you are open to connecting with your creative energy, and have fun doing it! I am here to guide you every step of the way. There’s something for everybody at CAMP, no matter your level of experience.
You are my kind of Camper! I truly believe everybody has creativity within, just bursting to come out to play. The most beautiful things about CAMP are the supportive community, and the variety of classes—many perfect for beginners. It is my belief that true creativity is less about the end result, and more—and most importantly—about the mindfulness + play that comes from enjoying the process.
Yes! Once registered, you will have immediate, unlimited access to everything at CAMP, for as long as your membership is active.
A variety of fresh content is added 2–3 times per month. Most live events are available as replays.
As much as we would love to see you, you are 100% welcome to play behind the scenes. You can watch replays of live events as you desire, and enjoy all that CAMP has to offer in your own time + space.
Sometimes all we need to awaken our creative energy is a little inspiration. You will find plenty of that at CAMP, from the video classes, event replays, and even other Campers’ posts in the Community. Take a look around, watch a class or two, then shut down your screens and play offline, at your own pace. CAMP will be waiting for you then next time you power up.
Due to the nature of a paid digital membership, the ability to download video classes for offline viewing is not available.
You can spend as much or as little time at CAMP as you desire and have available. Content is available whenever you need a creativity break. The only scheduled element is the optional live events, for which replays are usually available.
CAMP is designed and intended to be a place for grown-up kids-at-heart to play. Many of the video classes are suitable for artists of all ages, and we do have social events where the whole family is invited to participate. In the future, a Kids Camp area may be developed to inspire the children of Campers, though memberships would be for adults only.
FIRST, find yourself a really fun three-ring binder to create your own CAMP Handbook! Print + insert your monthly calendars, colouring + activity pages, journal prompts, and other CAMP materials.
[Disclaimer: While the products I mention here really are my faves, some are affiliate links, which means I may receive a few bucks from your purchase to invest back into CAMP or feed my bottomless-pit teenage sons.]
A fine-tip, waterproof black technical pen | I don’t go anywhere without at least one Uniball Signo DX pen. I buy them in boxes of 12 and have one in every room, every handbag, every desk drawer, every pencil case… you catch my drift. They are super fine (0.38), super smooth, and you can safely use watercolour or other wet media over the ink without smearage. Yes, smearage is a word. Well, it is now.
A mixed-media art journal/sketchbook | I’m a big fan of the Canson Mix Media XL sketchbooks for my art journaling, and they are always included in my workshop + retreat guests’ kits. The pages can take any kind of media—pencil, charcoal, pen, ink, watercolour, acrylic, and probably oil, though I don’t use them. Even with a fully loaded page, the other side is typically still usable.
Watercolour paints | You really can’t go wrong here—anything from a dollar store set for kids, to top of the line tube paints. Try a few different kinds, formats, brands, and you will quickly discover which ones you like best. My current faves are Ecoline + Daniel Smith. Hot tip for the Daniel Smith paints: start with one of their 238-Color sample cards—an amazing way to try aaaaaall the colours before buying full tubes! If you don’t have watercolours on hand, and you want to dabble with adding watery colour to your pen drawings, you can use food colouring, or cheap coloured markers will bleed when you run a wet brush over their marks! Experiment with things like coffee, tea, wine, and the juices from cooking colourful foods, like beets!
A few brushes | Again, starting with a mixed pack from the dollar store is a fine option for beginners. Make sure they are for watercolour paints, or multi-use. Once you decide you enjoy painting, you can invest in artist quality brushes like Winsor + Newton, or Princeton.
Graphite pencils | The softer the pencil, the darker + smudgier the marks; the harder the pencil the lighter + more crisp the marks. Pick up a little set that contains a range of hard/soft pencils, and play with their different effects, like this Tombow set which also includes a fine pen eraser.
Old books | Evvvvveryone has old books collecting dust in a box somewhere. If not, hit up your friends and family, or visit a thrift shop. Look for old hardcovers with uncoated pages. I flip through the story to make sure the energy isn’t dark and heavy, then bring them home to tear up and use either as backgrounds for ink drawings or paint patterns, or as layers in my mixed media pieces. They add whimsical texture, interest + intrigue to your journal pages, too!
Collage paste | Mod Podge or artist quality soft gel work well to adhere those old book pages to your journal pages or canvases. I prefer a matte finish to reduce the sheen on the page and increase legibility.
A spatula | To shmear (another new word for ya!) the collage paste and smooth out those book pages, and also a fun tool to push paint around once you start using acrylics. Any pliable silicon kitchen spatula will do, but my fave right now is the Princeton Catalyst Mini-Blade.
Chalk | Yup. Plain ol’ white + coloured chalk from the kids’ stuff. I use it to sketch out illustrations + marks on my canvases (wipes right off with a damp cloth once your paint is completely dry), and transfer designs (like carbon paper) from my printer onto other surfaces (walls, windows, canvases, fabric, etc.)
A light grey marker | Wanna make your journal doodles pop? Use any ol’ pale grey marker to add shading to the outside edge of your marks—they will appear to be floating off the page!
For more detailed info on these items, watch the video class, Ten Must-Haves for Your Creativity Backpack.
Hooray! Buying a membership for a friend is super easy. Log out of CAMP, and register again with your friend’s name and contact information. If you’d like it to be a surprise, contact me, and we can come up with a sneaky plan.
Should you feel CAMP isn’t right for you, I’d love to chat with you to see how can I make your CAMP experience better. If you still decide to cancel, hand me a tissue before you go, and simply cancel your membership though your account page.
Your monthly rate is locked in for the life of your membership. If you cancel, and decide to come back later, you will be billed at the new rate. For annual memberships, if you decide to cancel within seven (7) days of registration, I will issue a full refund upon request.
Because of the nature of online digital content, refunds beyond those stated above are not available.