Student Success Story: Marion Gaiss

At Take Two, we love to hear from our students. Here is an excerpt from our discussion with a recent participant in The Art of Abstract Collage with Cordula Kagemann. 

Meet Marion

Marion Gaiss is a 63-year-old artist from Germany who has been painting for over 30 years, beginning her journey during her pregnancy. Initially self-taught, she soon sought out courses with inspiring artists to hone her craft.

"After my children grew up, I intensified my painting," Marion shares. She enjoyed 15 successful years with exhibitions and sales. However, the COVID-19 pandemic, combined with her growing frustration with the demands of putting on an exhibition and a slowdown in interest in her painted works led to a creative block. "I lost the joy in painting," she recalls. 

Seeking a fresh start, Marion started to explore collage art and soon discovered Cordula Kagemann through social media. Intrigued, she searched for in-person learning opportunities but instead came across Take Two. "I have always looked for artists who inspire me and attended courses. I've learned a lot from many artists over the years, but never online," she explains. "But I only needed two seconds to book the course because I thought, that's it!"

"I take courses to learn new approaches because I'm not an artist who always makes the same thing time after time. I need new things, new materials, new ideas. Sometimes I develop it myself, and sometimes I take courses."

Marion was motivated to reignite her passion and explore smaller formats of art through collage. She explains, "Painting is still my passion, and I missed it very much, but I wanted new inspiration and a new approach."

The Art of Abstract Collage highlights

Marion found Cordula's course structure and content transformative. "The course was perfectly structured," she says. Learning to create handmade collage papers was a highlight: "Now, every day, I have a new idea for making papers. It's really creative and great fun."

"This course was spot on and more than fulfilled my expectations. It was high quality and the support was wonderful. If you're looking for inspiration or a new approach, don't hesitate - just do it!"

She also appreciated the use of archetypes, which provided a structured yet intuitive way to create, and the fact that once you have enrolled in a Take Two course, you can revisit the modules again and again because you have lifelong access.

Marion says the course helped her to:

• Rediscover joy in art: Marion reflects, "Because of Cordula's course, I am having fun 
  creating art again."
• Shift her artistic approach: "Before, I made large paintings, but now I see you can create impressive art on a small scale," she explains. Marion also transitioned to working exclusively with paper, saying, "I only use paint to make collage paper now."
• Rebuild confidence: Positive feedback from peers in the course's "inspiring and helpful" Facebook group bolstered her confidence. "I connected with the other students and we had a lot of communication."

Marion now plans to create 100 collages to sell at an arts and crafts market. Her newfound confidence has opened the door to new possibilities. "I'm excited to see where this journey takes me," she says.

As an enthusiastic advocate for Take Two and Cordula's course, Marion recommends other artists sign up. She adds that even as a non-native English speaker, subtitles made this no problem. "With Cordula's tips about creating college papers, I was able to enter a new world so easily."