announcements

Hurrah! Kelly Kilmer is Coming! Kelly Kilmer is Coming!

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Kelly always looks extra happy when she's finished setup!

Due to popular demand, Kelly Kilmer is indeed scheduled to make her Northern Colorado appearance this summer. She will be here August 26, 27 and 28. The final details in terms of times and pricing are being worked out as I type this, but know this much:

THE CLASS INFO

Serenity Bundles will be held on Friday, August 26. This will be a full day, with a lunch break.

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Serenity Bundles
In this extensive, (paint covered) hands-on workshop, you will create luscious, rich, and colorful painted pages. You will learn how to layer, scrub, and create soulful and unique to you pages that can be used for a variety of art projects. You will learn color, design, composition, collage and much, much more in this class. You will transform your painted papers into expressive, hand bound books. This class is actually MULTIPLE classes in one! You will be learning techniques that apply to a variety of art forms (think art journaling, collage, etc…) as you create layered, unique pages. You will also be creating at least two different books.
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Authenticity: Finding Your Voice Through Art Journaling

Authenticity: Finding Your Voice Through Art Journaling will be a 2-day class, Saturday 8/27 (there will be a lunch break) and Sunday 8/28.

Art journaling is about discovery and self expression. Your journal is your safe place to explore, express and experiment. It’s your place to get lost as you repeatedly find yourself between the layers of paper, paint and pen.  In this unique workshop, you will learn new ways to approach your pages using paper, paint and pen. Learn how to push yourself out of your creative comfort zone. You will create cohesive pages that are completely unique to you.

THE CLASS LOCATION

Community Creative Center at the Historic Carnegie Building
200 Matthews St., Fort Collins, CO
Basement workshop
Exact times and prices should be finalized in the next few days and they will be added to the shop on this site. Join our Facebook group or Meetup group to be updated when this is ready for you to sign up. Questions? Comments? Think you might be joining us? Comment here!

Let’s Put On A Show!

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Student work from our Faux Etching class with Leighanna Light in September 2014.
Student work from our Faux Etching class with Leighanna Light in September 2014.

In order to help get more exposure for our group and the workshops we’ve been holding, I thought it would be fun to show Northern Colorado art fans what we’ve been up to by holding an exhibit of our work to date. Julie at Lola’s Fresh Patina generously offered us gallery space, so here we go!

Here Are The Specifics:

Show dates: November 13-21
Opening night: November 13, 6-9 pm
Gallery hours:
Thursday 12:00 pm-4:00 pm
Friday + Saturday 12:00 pm-5:00 pm

Location: Lola’s Fresh Patina
1349 Cleveland Ave
Loveland, Colorado 80537

Participation fee: $5 per artwork submitted. Funds go towards printing, beverages, snacks and supplies for opening night.

Art to be delivered to Lola’s by Oct 29/30 12:00-5:00 pm

Art pickup dates: The week of Thanksgiving, details TBD

If you would like the opportunity to sell your work, you need to set the price, remembering that Lola’s takes a 30% commission fee

Here’s What You Do:

Step 1: Fill out the form at alwaysBcreating.com. Also, email photos of your entries to webmaster@alwaysbcreating.com. (That’s technically two steps, I guess, but whatever.) The DEADLINE for signup is October 25, but sign up by 10/17 in order to potentially have your photos in the marketing materials!

Step 2: Wait for your PayPal invoice from websmith@eeep.com and make your entry fee payment.

Step 3: Deliver your artwork to Lola’s Fresh Patina by Oct 29/30 12:00-5:00 pm.

Step 4: Join us on second Friday for our show opening!

Step 5: Pick up your artwork when the show is over.

See? It’s easy! Questions? Call Tracey at 970-672-4887

Liesel Lund Workshops Canceled

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I am sorry to say that we weren’t able to get enough students together for Liesel Lund’s workshops, so we’ll have to cancel her weekend this June. When we start scheduling for 2016, we’ll invite her again and hope that our ongoing marketing efforts will help to increase our class sizes overall.

If you signed up for any of Liesel’s workshops, you will receive a PayPal refund at some point today or tomorrow.

Thank you to everyone who helped me get the word out — your efforts have not gone unnoticed! 🙂

REMINDER: Sign up for Kelly Kilmer and/or Leighanna Light! The sooner you confirm your attendance, the sooner these gals can prep for teaching you. Remember that both of these artists put together class kits based on the numbers I give them and it really helps them to be prepared well ahead of travel time.

Last Call for Liesel Lund!

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(That means you should register by June 1)

Liesel will be here teaching at MAS at the end of June, but to be a part of it, we need you to secure your seat by June 1. Liesel has a reputation for being a great teacher and her colorful work is so fun to look at. And, frankly, she had us at the idea of making our journals mimic a Joseph Cornell box. 

You’ve seen Liesel’s work in the March/April issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and she’s taught at CREATE and Art is You! Be sure to sign up today!

NOTE: If we don’t get enough registrations, this workshop weekend will need to be canceled. I hate putting a negative like that out in these emails, but that’s where we are right now. We need for these workshops to generate enough income for the artist who’s teaching, especially when they are traveling from out of state to be here. So take a look at the classes below and try something new!

The class schedule for Liesel Lund is as follows:

DateTimeWorkshopCost
 Friday, 6/26/15 10a-5pEmbellished Birdhouses $105
 Saturday, 6/27/15 10a-5pSoul Shimmers $105 + kit fee
Sunday, 6/28/15 10a-5pTins Charming $105 + kit fee

The 2015 Workshop Schedule is Here!

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  • June 26-27-28: Seattle artist Liesel Lund for mixed media and art journaling
  • July 17-18-19: California artist Kelly Kilmer is back for the third year in a row to do art journaling and bookmaking
  • September 18-19: New Mexico artist Leighanna Light will help us get our hands dirty with assemblage and bookmaking

Here are some of the workshops so far:

Embellished Birdhouses

with Liesel Lund
Friday, June 26, 2015 • 10a-5p

Soul Shimmers

with Liesel Lund
Saturday, June 27, 2015 • 10a-5p

Tins Charming

with Liesel Lund
Sunday, June 28, 2015 • 10a-5p

A Journey in Black and White

with Kelly Kilmer
Friday, July 17, 2015 • 10a-2p

An Open Heart Journal

with  Kelly Kilmer
Friday, July 17, 2015 • 3p-7p

Visual Poetry

with  Kelly Kilmer
Saturday, July 18, 2015 • 10a-6p

Here In My Head

with  Kelly Kilmer
Sunday, July 19, 2015 • 12p-4p

Thank you and looking forward to 2015…

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As the 2014 workshop season comes to a close, I wanted to thank you all for being a part of this venture. It was amazing to meet so many new folks and to hang out with my old buddies. And what wonderful art was made! It wouldn’t have been as wonderful as it was without YOU. Yes, you.

For those who filled out the survey after each workshop weekend, an extra special thank you. Without your input, Lynn and I don’t know what’s working and what isn’t. The surveys are anonymous, so you can feel free to be as honest as you like…constructive criticism is especially welcome.

This is a good time to let you know (if you weren’t aware already) about the Christmas Party & Art Play Day on December 13. Click the image below to be taken to the Facebook event page so you can RSVP.

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A Note About the Surveys and Working on 2015

Some things to remember about what we’re doing here…

The main goal of alwaysBcreating.com (this is Tracey’s piece) is to get mixed media workshops in our area. The main goal of Masonville Artists’ Studio (this is Lynn’s bit) is to facilitate connecting as a community of artists and playing together.

In the interest of transparency…this is not a for-profit venture. A small dollar amount is added to the instructor fee to cover overhead for Lynn, marketing costs and lunches/drinks/snacks. Lynn and I make arrangements with the instructors to take workshops at no cost. Lynn lets us use her home for a weekend. I work with the instructors to book, market/advertise and sell seats in the classes.

Lynn and I are always talking about how to make things work better. There are some fun things being planned for upcoming art playdays, for an art journaling group, and other activities. We’re a work in progress and this venture will only be as great as those who participate.

In the surveys, there were a few comments that I want to share with the group so we can all be mindful of these issues:

  • Please ask your fellow participants before posting on social media during a workshop weekend. Some people don’t like to be tagged for various reasons and it’s only fair to check before posting. In the olden days, before the internet, we used to check with a person before giving out their phone number. I know it’s easy to forget, so this is a gentle reminder.
  • When we bring an artist in to teach, they are given the opportunity to sell their work to the class if they want. I’d like to protect this perk for the instructors, so nobody else should be selling items at workshops without prior permission from the workshop hosts.

Kelly Kilmer – booked for July 2015!

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It’s very exciting! Kelly Kilmer is on the 2015 calendar! We don’t know yet what workshops she’ll be teaching, but if you are a fan of Kelly’s, you’ll want to pencil (or Souffle, or Glaze, or Gelly Roll, or Sharpie…) her in for July 17-18-19, 2015. Be sure to tell your friends and make sure you’re on the newsletter mailing list, so you’ll get updates as they are released.

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