Guess Who's Coming To Rural! KC WILLIS!!

I'm just so excited!! In a little over a month from now, renowned mixed media and fiber artist, KC Willis, is holding an altered book workshop right here in Rural. Right in my own backyard! YAY!!

The Storyteller-Handmade Fiber Collage Book Class - - September 18-19, 2010

I was lucky enough to be able to attend one of her fabric collage workshops in Colorado and I can't wait to see what she's bringing here to Wisconsin! You can check out all the details on her website HERE.



Sign up now before the class fills up! If you don't live close enough to drive here for each day, the workshop is being held at the beautiful Crystal River Inn, a lovely B&B in our quaint little Yankee Village on the banks of the Crystal River. Just a few miles south of Waupaca off Hwy 22. You can book a room or stay in the Little House on the Prairie with a group of others. Even if you live within driving distance you may want to book a room and stay here regardless. I promise it will be a weekend that will change your life!

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

KC Willis' Studio Retreats Feature Visiting Artists in 2010

KC Willis has some of my fave artists on staff for 2010! Lesley Venable of Flatwoods Folk Art fame will be teaching an altered book class, Bound Reliquaries, which will be held in KC's Colorado Studio February 4 - 6, 2010.

The class is limited to only 10 people so sign up early! After the first 5 sign up there will be a drawing and one of those lucky artists will receive the class at 50% off the already bargain class price. Additionally, when the next 5 sign up another drawing will be held and one of those lucky artists will receive the same 50% discount! A dream of a deal!

I'll be heading on out to KC's in a couple of weeks and I just can't wait!

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