KC Willis & My 'Fallen Angel'

Evenin' Sweeties...

It's time for the Big Reveal for my Mixed Media Collage I made

at KC Willis's Workshop in Huntington Beach....

'Fallen Angel'.

Gathering up my embellishments from home before the class,

I already had in mind the idea of a 'Fallen Angel'.

I have been saving a pair of brass wings I got at Sandy Schor's booth

in Round Top, Texas for something special & for me this class was

Something Special!

I brought some of my favorite Texas dollies, a vintage locket,
some beautiful little vintage buttons Lori Anderson had given me,
an old rusty skeleton key my hubby dug up in my sister's yard while
doing some construction & a cool old, metal GIN bottle tag.
I didn't have my own image, I wanted to pick from one of KC's & when I
saw 'HER', I knew she was the ONE!

One of the things KC said, was to let your image SPEAK to you.
Her words will come, she will unfold herself if you just listen.
And then she spoke...
"a baby's got to eat, I do what I got to."
You can imagine the rest of the story...
The coolest thing was that my locket had an initial on it.
A 'M' for Mother, I put a picture of a vintage baby inside of it.
She hangs proudly on one of my favorite Texas ceiling tins in my living room,
with an ANGEL watching over her & her baby.

XOXO
vintagesusie

KC Willis's Workshop ROCKED!!!!

 {the fabric table, I took that top piece}

Really....I mean REALLY Friends???

Is this what an Art Retreat is like?

Is this what I've been missing ALL my life??

 Yesterday, I spent the entire day with KC Willis of Lipstick Ranch & some of the
most delightful, talented & creative women you could ever meet.

 We gathered at a Community Room in Huntington Beach, California.

I got there a little early as they were setting up tables of fabric, paper,

sewing machines, baubles & buttons. It was a FEAST for the eyes!

KC had brought some absolutely AMAZING pieces of her original

fabric collages & had them set up for us all to look at & fall in LOVE with,

I LOVED them ALL!

Now, I'll tell you a secret...

 I'm a little bit of a KC Willis groupie, all though she wouldn't know that.

I have been following her work & her on-line workshops for years &

quietly coveting her work.

 Not only does the textures & layers & time worn images of her work appeal to me,

but her STRONG WOMEN & their SAYIN's & QUOTES, have captured my heart!

"Inside Every Woman a Gypsy Girl Dances by the Fire."

KC Willis also had these fabric collage envelopes that were pieces of art themselves,

filled with three CD's of workshops & demonstrations on how to create

some of her most popular techniques & art work...pretty cool right!

You can find these HERE if your interested.  ;)

A stack of some of her yummy goodness!!!

I wish I could have gone back today because she was teaching how to make

these awesome Mixed Media Collage Books.

Here's a couple inside pages she had at the workshop as an example...

aren't they FABULOUS!!!

This flag is to die for, it's spectacular with all it's vintage fabrics, red ticking stripes

& multiple vintage image transfers...loving EVERYTHING about it & you can get it in a kit!!!

So what can I say about KC?
She is a spirit filled with light & it's contagious.
Her mantra is 'Give it ALL Away'...you will get back more then you could ever imagine.
She reminds me of one of the Strong Women in her artwork...
she's funny & sassy & I adored her!
{check out her ministry work at The Pine Ridge Reservation on South Dakota}

She holds nothing back, she teaches you ever little technique she uses to create her Magic...

and as we all started our own creations, KC's Magic filled the room & we took FLIGHT!

This being my very FIRST workshop, I can see how you could get addicted to the process,
being surrounded by so many creative & generous women was a delight.

Friends, I had SOOOOOO much fun working on my own creation!  ;)
I learned how to be brave sewing with layers of  fabrics, fibers & papers,
I learned to embrace the accidental mistakes that happen when creating
& I learned that Aleene's Tacky Glue can hold almost ANYTHING in place!! lol

{Marilou & KC Willis}
But best of all, I was able to hang with some of my bloggie friends in person & have the
sincere pleasure of meeting KC Willis the artist, the humanitarian, the 'SPITFIRE'!
It was an AWESOME day!!!!

Driving the 1 1/2 hours home from Huntington Beach, I reflected on the perfect day
& as I made my way up my mountain, I looked in the rear view mirror & saw this.
I pulled into a turn out, grabbed my camera & as I caught the sky's last bit of color
I thought how very Blessed I am & once again,
there's NOTHIN like a Western Sky!!!  ;)
{stick around, my creation reveal will be my next post}

XOXO
vintagesusie