Schroeder is teaching classes and workshops through School District 622 Community Education at the Gladstone Center in Maplewood.
For more information about Schroeder's upcoming classes, visit her Web site at www.livingwatercolours.com or contact her at brushcolour@yahoo.com or 651-731-5433.
In living watercolor
Julie Schroeder
staff writer
For Julie Schroeder, creating a piece of artwork starts with paints, paper and a bucket of water. "And you're ready to go," she says.
From her signature watercolor piece, "The Visitor" featuring a hummingbird flitting toward a flower, to abstract works and encaustic creations using colored wax, Schroeder has dabbled in many painting mediums.
While Schroeder launched into the realm of teaching her watercolor techniques in the fall of 2008, her roots in art stretch way back.
"My art, I have to say, started when I was a toddler. I was the one taking the Silly Putty and printing it from the comics and trying to draw Bugs Bunny," Schroeder says.
She lives in Battle Creek now but grew up in Montreal near the outskirts of town where she was close to nature, soon incorporating that into her creations.
She explored the woods, fields, creeks and shorelines surrounding her childhood home, collecting any treasures she could find, from fossils to tadpoles.
"I've been painting for a long time. I've loved art ever since I was a kid, but when I got into college, I started watercolor painting as a hobby and I have been painting ever since," Schroeder says.
In college, she also yearned for adventure and took up parachuting and hang gliding, and became a certified scuba diver.
The ocean exploration allowed her to get up close to everything from sea turtles to sharks, eventually incorporating those creatures into her paintings as well.
She earned her bachelor's degree in geography and proceeded to become certified as a teacher.
She taught elementary through high-school students, as well as adults learning English as a second language.
"When I was teaching elementary school art, I loved that. I always knew I loved doing that the most, but never really thought of it as a pursuit of a career," Schroeder recalls.
Painting a career
As a single career woman, Schroeder says she focused on teaching other subjects to support herself and continued art as a hobby.
Schroeder spent her summer breaks during college in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
"I was so taken with the mountains that I was going back every summer after that and working out there. That is where I met my husband. (He) was camping and hiking, so we're both kind of made of the same cloth," Schroeder says.
She also started experimenting with painting during college and chose watercolor for its convenience compared to oil paints or other mediums, Schroeder says.
But it wasn't until she took a class about watercolors that she became "hooked," Schroeder says.
"Watercolor is a bit unpredictable compared to oils or pastels or acrylics," she says. "What's fun about watercolor is you can throw salt in it, you can throw different materials in there, and the watercolor will react to them and do different textural things. You never know what is going to end up happening. That is part of the discovery that I enjoy about watercolor, too, is the surprises that happen."
She explains that any watercolor painting she does takes multiple stages to complete.
She says her family is very supportive and Dan often gives her ideas. "My husband actually is my right hand, because when I get at a point I'm not sure what else the painting needs, he seems to know what the painting needs and then I do it and it's great," Julie says.
Julie and her husband established their home in the Battle Creek area 18 years ago and have two sons, Michael and David. With her family's support, she began to focus more on teaching art.
Since last fall, Schroeder has been leading regular classes in watercolor painting at the Gladstone Center in Maplewood through School District 622 Community Education.
Inspiring teacher
The transition from working individually on her art at her home studio to explaining her thoughts and techniques to a class took some getting used to, Schroeder says.
She first got a glimpse into that process when she was contacted to do online demonstrations for a company called Ashdown Studios, outside of Rochester, and their Web site www.brushstrokes.tv.
"In the filming, I was (also) teaching so while I was painting I had to tell what I was doing and explain what colors I was using," Schroeder says. "It was a real challenging because I was always used to just painting quietly without talking ... but I did get used to that."
Schroeder is embarking on teaching two sessions of watercolor classes this winter and spring at the Gladstone Center.
"(Julie) demonstrates very well, and she actually teaches which is unusual in an art setting," says student Suzanne Starks, a resident of Lake Elmo.
Starks completed a watercolor session with Schroeder at the end of 2009.
Students from all walks of life take the classes for a variety of reasons.
In Starks' case, she was going through chemotherapy and needed a release.
"I love the look of watercolor," Starks says. "(Julie) is just a very dynamic person who is very kind and passionate about her work and very passionate about teaching itself."
Another student, Janet Englund of Maplewood, is already signed up for Schroeder's upcoming watercolor classes. She also completed two sessions last fall.
"When I took the first class I just found Julie incredibly delightful, and she is a wonderful teacher," Englund says.
Although the class included both beginners and experienced artists, Englund says Julie was able to cater to all abilities.
"She will give you the best opportunity to decide if you enjoy watercolor painting and if it's something that you really want to take on as a hobby," Englund says.
Schroeder also demonstrated her painting technique as a teaching tool during the class and allowed students to provide input on what they wanted to learn.
"The teacher very much influences how much you enjoy the art form," Englund says, adding that Schroeder's work is "phenomenal and unique."
Beauty on display
The community can also get a glimpse of Schroeder's creations through her display at Dunn Bros in Oakdale through March 7, as well as at the Oakdale Library.
Schroeder says she chose pieces from her existing collection that fit into her theme from the Dunn Bros display: "Melting Snows of Spring."
An opening reception will be held there on Feb. 18.
Schroeder also filmed a DVD, "Seasons of Watercolor," with Ashdown Studios last month.
While she is focused on her career teaching art now, Schroeder has not stopped creating pieces at her home studio and watercolor continues to be her favorite medium.
Schroeder says she especially enjoys watching the colors she mixes together with water flow on the canvas.
"It was like watching a dance happen on the paper. To me, I lose myself in that; it's so amazing. It's almost therapeutic. And you lose track of time. You think it's been 5 minutes and you know hours have gone by," Schroeder says.
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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Reader Comments
Posted: Monday, February 22, 2010
Article comment by: Cynthia Clarke
I had the pleasure of meeting Julie while on a painting holiday with her and other like-minded watercolor artists. It's nice to see that Julie's talents are finally being recognized both as an artist and a teacher. Great stuff, Julie Your Canadian buddy, Cynthia