So...What Have You Been Up To?

Rather than hibernate completely this winter (again) I decided to get out of the house at least a couple of times every week. So far, I've been able to get out and do something worthwhile three or more times every week and I'm having a lot of fun.

Since we moved my MIL into an assisted living facility a little over a year ago, I've noticed that several of the residents always seemed lonely and just didn't know what to do with themselves. I thought I might try to make a difference by spending more time over there during the week. Every Tuesday I get some other women in the area to meet me there and we help residents play Yahtzee. Everyone knows how to roll the dice and we don't play "for keeps" (at least most of us don't play Killer Yahtzee!) so we laugh a lot and talk a lot and , of course, we have coffee/tea and something home baked while we're at it. On Saturdays we play BINGO. Everyone wins two prizes (fruit or candy) and, of course, we have an ice cream treat afterward.

My favorite activity is when I can help some of the residents create something beautiful. We started out with some simple magazine collages. Here are some pictures of the latest project we did just prior to Valentine's Day.



I think they did a GREAT job! Most importantly, we had FUN. Two of the ladies had so much fun that they worked together until 9:30 PM - which is pretty late for them to be so bright-eyed. I think we'll make some necklaces next!



Edna and Melba - up late and working on a free-form collage.


If you're looking for something worthwhile and rewarding to do, check out your local nursing homes and assisted living facilities. Volunteering to do ANYTHING at all there will be most appreciated! Bake cookies with the ladies, read to someone who is blind or nearly so, help residents with jig saw puzzles or simple word search puzzles, take a walk with someone, bring your pet to visit - the possibilities are endless. You won't be sorry you did!

A Cure For The Winter Doldrums - Take A Workshop Or Two

You may remember that I've mentioned the artist KC Willis and the workshops she teaches. I attended one last October and I'd love to go back to Colorado for another. When I heard she was putting a marketing workshop together on-line, I jumped at the chance to join in and I'm so glad I did! This is one of those workshops that is open-ended and you can sign up for it at any time. In fact, if you're interested, she has agreed to extend her special introductory price until February 1st. In addition to the workshop videos there are a lot of interesting discussions taking place on the site. If you're an artist who wants to market your art, you won't regret it.




If you're not at the point of marketing your art and you want to learn some new techniques, you may want to take a look at the other workshops she has to offer. Here's what KC has to say about them:




This has been an amazing year at KC Willis Studio. Wow. 170 students from 8 countries currently enrolled at the on-line workshop where I teach the basics of my techniques and inspire you to new creative heights. You have never seen anything like Collage Camp.

After Collage Camp there's Mixed Media Mania where you take what you learned at Collage Camp and in these workshops I teach Altars and Shrines, Altered Books and Works on Paper. Fun stuff.


And for those of you already making art and wanting to know how you take it to the next level and get yourself a regional or national audience, next week starts the super exciting Marketing Mindset. Check out the Main Page and take advantage of the Intro Price which will only last until January 8th.



And if video workshops aren't your thing...how about KC Willis Live! (assuming I've had my coffee.) Come take a multi-day class with me in my very sweet Victorian studio house in Longmont, Colorado. Check it out at www.studioretreats.ning.com.

KC Willis - Longmont, Colorado

Longmont is one of those great little cities with a decidedly small town flavor. Folks are friendly and it's not one of those places where people walk down the sidewalk elbow-to-elbow among strangers who never dare make eye contact with anyone.



Tucked away in the midst of the historic district of town and just off the busy Main Street is a little rose and pink Victorian house which is now the studio home of artist KC Willis, her dog, Fiona, and The Lipstick Ranch Gallery. The minute one walks through the front door and into the sun parlor there is a feeling of being surrounded by something very special. It is as though the house wraps its arms around visitors, making them feel warm and welcome.





KC's walls are filled with her own wonderful creations as well as the works of several other artists. Her Western women fabric collages are especially beautiful and intriguing with quotes written in the artist's hand that spring as much from her own life experience as from her closeness to the subjects of her art. To be sure, there are cowboys, Indian chiefs, outlaws, feminist icons, angels and fallen angels among the artwork displayed, but it is the Western women who steal the show away from them all.



The photos are, in their own right, very powerful and alluring images as one can imagine the amount of talent and gumption a woman had to have in order to succeed (and even survive) in what was definitely a tough man's world. It is, however, the heart and soul Willis provides to these women through her use of fabric and her insightful quotes that gives the art its life. It's not difficult to look at these women and believe that they are actually speaking the words she assigned to them on the canvas.





Earlier this month Lipstick Ranch became much more than a studio and gallery. It was transformed into a magical place where artists could gather to learn, share, and laugh. The first KC Willis studio retreat workshop came together and just clicked under her capable guidance. Her abilities as a story-teller kept her students engaged, inspired and laughing. The only drawback was that it was eventually time for the participants to pack up and go home again when the weekend ended.



Lipstick Ranch has a robust schedule of workshops for 2010 that includes workshops led by KC Willis herself as well as by other talented and acclaimed visiting artists including JoAnna Pierotti, Lesley Venable, Rebecca Crowell and Sarah Fishburn.



If you're looking for a great workshop at KC's yet this year, Sarah Fishburn's Ragtags Studio Central: Artist Books and the Elements of Design will be held in KC'S studio December 5th and 6th, 2009. For more information, check out the visiting artist's page


WIP and completed works from the first studio retreat workshop:














For more workshop pictures:

http://kcwillis.blogspot.com/2009/10/make-mine-magical.html

http://rebeccaforvintageliving.blogspot.com/2009/10/kc-willis-studio-retreat-in-longmont-co.html

Colorado Studio Retreat Alert!!

This looks like a really GREAT retreat! Everyone who has taken KC Willis' on-line workshops has just raved about them! Check out the details here - KC Willis Studio Retreats.

Visit KC Willis Studio Retreats

Calling All Collage Artists!

K C Willis has a great collage camp registration going on at: http://collagecamp.ning.com/

Check out her blog here - http://kcwillis.blogspot.com/

I just love her artwork!


I'll be back with more photos from Rural later today!

Have a GREAT day!