K.C. Willis INTERVIEW
Last November I wrote about K.C. Willis, the owner of Lipstick-Ranch. K.C. is a Colorado~based fabric artist whose style is heavily influenced by her connection to cowgirls of years gone by, and also her appreciation for the rich look that comes with distressed finishes and textures. Over the the last 13 months K.C. has opened her business model to include teaching, educational videos and also seminars. Her creative mindset, combined with her canny business sense and intense work ethic have made K.C. a role model for both artists and entrepreneurs {and the many of us that fit into both of those categories} across the world. Here ’s a peek into the world of K.C. Willis…
“We took to makin’ trouble like most women take to makin’ biscuits.”
Cactus: What was your first inspiration to begin fabric art?
In the spring of 2000, I read a book on the journals of pioneer women and was really impacted by their strength and the haunting ring of their words. Something started to tug at me. Somewhere in one of those books I saw where a woman who had gone West in a wagon train had later made a mementoof the journey by taking an old weathered piece of the tent they had slept under and stitched a blurry photograph someone had taken of them to the piece of fabric. She had then written in thread simply “Piece of the old tent.” Something continued to tug at me. Not long after that I watched for the first time in quite a few years parts of the Ken Burns PBS Series, The Civil War. Here Burns touched you visually with the power of the old photographs and grabbed you emotionally with words read from the letters of that time. Something started to bug the heck out of me. Words. Photos. Old fabrics. Then on a Sunday morning in April I went down into a room in my basement and put together what would be the first of thousands of pieces of work that I would sign my name to over the next nine years. Now mind you it was a distant cousin of the pieces I do today, but the idea was there and I had to see it through. It would not leave me alone until I did.
Cactus: How do you describe your art to somebody who is seeing it for the first time?
I describe it as fiber fiction….I am telling stories with vintage fabrics, pictures and words. I’m making you look at these women in a way you never have before…and I am giving them a voice with the words that I write.
More after the break, including a BIG OFFER from K.C…
Go ahead, Read the Rest of this Entry!!
The first one of these ever made was one of the winners in a national Art for Obama contest during the 2008 election.
Cactus: In what ways has your art evolved the most over the years?
It’s gotten more complex. More layers of fabrics and collages and more textures. And I have also learned to look at my work and ask “What if…?” This has led to Altered Books, Shrines and even putting my work on vintage furniture.
“I gamble with cards. I gamble with women. Cards ain’t near as scary.”
Cactus: What is the perfect setting for your best creativity {time of day, weather outside, music in the air}?
The perfect setting for me is my studio everyday no matter the weather or the music. If you want to make art for a living you have to show up and you have to show up almost every day of your life. I make and sell well over 1200 pieces of art a year. I can’t wait for the perfect setting. There is the creative part and there is a work ethic to back it up. That’s what makes it work. But within that studio that I show up to 6 or 7 days a week…the best days are any day that my dog is with me and any day that I can sing with my favorite Christian bands like Jeremy Camp or Casting Crowns at the top of my lungs. My dog has learned to completely ignore me when I do that.
“I like my horse. He don’t behave any different ’cause I’m female.”
Cactus: Do you have a favorite subject or does it change on a regular basis?
The Women of the West have been my favorite subject for almost ten years. I never get tired of them.
Cactus: What was the trigger that made you begin your Collage camps and workshops?
Since I started making my work in 2000 I have never taught like so many artists do. It wasn’t that I thought I had all these artistic secrets to guard or anything…I was just too busy to consider it. Then last year when the economy took a nose dive so did my business. I rely on stores (I’m in about 40 of them around the country) to order my work. Retail was suffering, so my wholesale business was suffering. A friend of mine, painter Jane DesRosier, suggested I think about doing an on-line video workshop like she was doing. She thought there would be an audience for my teaching. She helped me set it up and my husband (who just happens to be a photojournalist for CBS News) taped six videos that show how I make my version of collage art (and I threw in a little inspiration and motivation for good measure) and we put them up on my site called Collage Camp. (CollageCamp.ning.com). I have 170 students from 8 countries! It has been a success and a blast. I really love to teach. I also did a Collage Camp Two, essentially, called Mixed Media Mania (MixedMediaMania.ning.com) and here I teach Altered Books, Altars and Shrines and Works on Paper. AND now I am teaching in-person workshops at my new studio here in Longmont, CO. This has really changed my life. I know this might sound silly, but I really think I have found my calling. I’m an artist, of course, but sometimes I think the whole purpose of the art’s existence was so that I would get to this point of being a teacher. I show technique, sure, but more importantly I inspire and empower women to honor their creative gifts and show them how to have a blast doing it and how to find joy and strength in the process. And just like in the on-line Collage Camp, women from all over the world are booking my classes and coming to Colorado. Amazing. I feel so blessed.
“A woman can accomplish so much more when wearing a tiara.”
Cactus: How do you see the camps evolving over the next year?
My dream is to find my rhythm and my true voice in my teaching and expand into different specific areas. I am doing a workshop on just marketing. Showing artists how to get their work in front of the public like I have been able to do, how to find a signature style, stay motivated, get press…things like that. Artists seem to be starving for that information and motivation. I’m giving that to them at Marketing Mindset (MarketingMindSet.ning.com). What a great group is already there. I hope to do some strictly motivational speaking in 2010 as well. In my in-person teaching I want to just keep filling up the classes and share everything I know. It’s time. The work that I do is a total gift from God. Time to share. And when I do that it all comes full circle right back to me anyway. I’ve got nothing to lose.
And we, your friends and students, have everything to gain.
Thank you K.C.!!!
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NOW, I have a couple of announcements before I sign off… First of all, K.C. and I are hoping to have her work in the Cactus Creek STORE for a couple of months beginning next February. More info will be coming soon but I’m hoping that we can even get K.C. to come to the STORE for a weekend of meeting and teaching. Fingers crossed and God willing.
ALSO, K.C. has a special gift for YOU!!! All Cactus Creek readers have the opportunity purchase any piece on K.C.’s website {LipstickRanch.com} and get the second piece of the same size half off!! Whoa.
DETAILS from K.C.: Purchase the one you want with the Buy Now button on the site and in the message area for Paypal simply state the name of your 1/2 price piece and I will invoice you for it via Paypal. If you want to give me the order directly using a credit or debit card call me at 719-510-3433. Even if the piece you like says Sold next to it…you can order it and one will be made immediately just for you based on that piece. Specify color preferences if you want.
I can ship to you orgift wrap for free and send to your gift recipient with a collaged card from YOU. In order to ensure delivery by Christmas Eve…fabric orders must be in my hot little hands by December 17th.
ONE MORE THING… Wanna give yourself or an artsy person on your list the gift of creativity? You can purchase my 6-video workshop on DVD called Collage Camp (I teach my fabric collage techniques) for $60 and get my Altars and Shrines DVD workshop for free. Look for the Buy Now button here: StudioRetreats.ning.com. Order today for Christmas delivery.
Questions? 719-510-3433 or lipstickranch@yahoo.com
Thank you, thank you, thank you to K.C. for all of these fun offers!!! Ok, GO. Shop. Be inspired!! xo,fancy
www.LipstickRanch.com
** Click HERE for more about K.C. Willis **
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December 16th, 2009 at 9:46 am
I think you captured the heart and soul of this fabulous artist and woman. She is such a continuum of ideas and an inspiration to us all. KC really illustrates the importance of listening to your inner voice and following your dreams. I’d like to add that KC and her husband are also about the best neighbors you can have. I should know,I live across the street and have been blessed by their knowledge and benevolence many times over. I wish them the best in their most recent endeavor. Two people couldn’t deserve it more!
December 16th, 2009 at 1:25 pm
What a nice interview…I am a fan of K.C. and enjoy reading about other artists. She’s very inspiring!