Workshops Summer 2023
In case you missed these workshops [listed below], we will be providing a link to the recordings soon. Stay tuned!
The Working Creative - Artist Development Workshops
Park County Creative Alliance is pleased to announce a series of 10 developmental workshops focusing on assisting artists and creatives in their business.
These free workshops will be offered July 16 and 23 and August 6, 13, and 20.
Morning workshops meet from 10 am to noon, and the afternoon workshops meet from 1 to 3 pm. Seating is limited, so registration is requested.
All workshops are presented by professionals working in the arts. Courses will empower artists in their creative careers. Topics include Art Sales, Financial Management, and Legal Issues for Artists. “Thanks to the generous continued support
of The Summit Foundation, we are able to offer these workshops. We hope everyone will join us at these interactive exciting seminars that also offer an opportunity to meet other creatives,” says Ann Lukacs, founder Park County Creative Alliance.
These classes are free but registration is required due to limited seating.
10 AM - Noon “Photographing Your Art for Sales and Social Media”
Whether your creative medium is painting, photography, or three dimensional art made of wood, glass, jewelry, etc., you need high quality photographs to sell and show your work. The photographic processes, techniques, and types of files are important and different depending on your use for the photographs. Sue will discuss and demonstrate various ways to photograph your work and manipulate file sizes and formats to best suit your particular needs. Topics include: high resolution, color corrected files for print sales and physical portfolio prints, DIY solutions for making your own photographs, including ideas for pleasing backgrounds for your art, and considerations for best file sizes and formats to suit your specific situations. it is NOT one size fits all!
Instructor: Sue Ryan
Bio: Sue Ryan is a fine art portrait photographer in Bailey, Colorado. She is a Certified Professional Photographer, member of Professional Photographers of America, Professional Photographers of Colorado, and Professional Photographers Guild of Colorado Springs. Sue specializes in boutique fine art black and white portraiture. Her work is hand-printed in her Bailey studio with print longevity of 150 years+. Aside from the “creative" aspect of photographing, her craftsmanship requires technical skills in critical exposure, color calibration of camera, monitor, and printer, and final image output. When Sue isn't behind a camera, she’s usually with her grandkids, dogs, or somewhere on the Colorado Trail.
1 PM - 3 PM “An Artist's Guide to a Successful Portfolio”
Instructor: Jessica Kurnas
Bio: Jessica Kurnas moved to Park County, Colorado with her husband, Curtis Long in March 2017. Originally from
Williamsburg, Virginia, Jessica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2014 where she majored in Communication Arts. Jessica’s professional art career has involved the creation of murals in our own mountain towns, set design for theaters, art for indie published authors, gallery sales and commissions. Jessica is now working full time as an artist, painting local wildlife, dragons and landscapes. She is also an advocate of the arts serving on a non-profit board, Park County Creative Alliance.
- Create a domain
- Setting up your website
- Working with a content management system
- Setting up payment providers
- Integrate products into your website
- Handling shipping
- Tracking sales and traffic
- Search engine optimization
- Marketing your website
Instructor: Stephen Hineline
Bio: Stephen Hineline is the owner of Epic Web. From enterprise mission critical applications to business websites and customer computers, he's done it all. Self taught and able to break down complex concepts into simple steps to take your skills to the next level.
1 PM - 3 PM “An Artist's Guide to Working with an Art Gallery”
Instructor: Jessica Kurnas
Bio: Jessica Kurnas moved to Park County, Colorado with her husband, Curtis Long in March 2017. Originally from Williamsburg, Virginia, Jessica received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2014 where she majored in Communication Arts. Jessica’s professional art career has involved the creation of murals in our own mountain towns, set design for theaters, art for indie published authors, gallery sales and commissions. Jessica is now working full time as an artist, painting local wildlife, dragons and landscapes. She is also an advocate of the arts serving on a non-profit board, Park County Creative Alliance.
10:00 am – 12:00 pm "Financial Management for Artists"
Your art or creative work is a business, and so your finances should reflect that. This workshop will provide essential accounting tips specifically for artists and creative small businesses. It will delve into foundational keys to success, such as business structure, financial statements, budgets, managing cash flow and timelines for tax filings.
Led by Emily Dyer-Wolfe, MBA
Bio: Emily Dyer-Wolfe graduated from the University of Memphis with her BFA in Musical Theatre in 2017 and pursued her
MBA shortly afterwards graduating in December of 2019. She has spent most of her professional career in Investment Banking and Financial Services.
Beginning in 2020, she worked with Aaron Capital Inc. providing investment banking services to companies across the US and in part with our affiliate company Aaron Capital PVT LTD in New Delhi, India. She predominantly worked on Mergers & Acquisitions, Capital Raises and Strategic Advisory. Her years in investment banking provided her with valuable experience that has allowed her to become a highly valued advisor to business owners.
Emily shifted her career to financial advisory because she wanted to be able to work with smaller businesses and individuals in achieving their financial goals. She offers full service financial planning and specialize in working with business owners, contract employees and creatives. Her passion is helping her clients build the financial confidence to live in their true purpose. She holds her Life and Health Producer licenses and securities licenses SIE, 63, 24, 7 and 79.
When she is not working, she enjoys reading, crafting and outdoors activities like hiking and biking. She also never passes up an opportunity to go on adventures with her dog, Bonnie. She and her husband KC moved to Aurora, CO in August of 2022 and just celebrated their first wedding anniversary on April 2nd 2023. They are loving their new home and look forward to
continuing to explore all that Colorado has to offer!
Noon - 1 PM lunch break. Bring a bag lunch. Refreshments and light snacks will be provided.
1:00 – 3:00 pm
"Navigating Legal Issues in the Creative Industries"
Led by Dave Ratner, Creative Law Network
This interactive workshop will focus on common legal issues that artists and creative professionals encounter. It will focus on the basics of intellectual property law, common questions regarding contracts and various business entities for creative endeavors. Come prepared with your burning legal questions.
Bio: Dave Ratner
It isn’t often that you run into a band manager turned lawyer. But that’s Dave Ratner. During his career in the music and
entertainment industry, Dave learned first-hand the important legal considerations and challenges creative professionals face. Dave channeled his passion into Creative Law Network, a law firm built specifically for creative professionals. Dave advises both creative and general business clients on all aspects of intellectual property and business law. Dave is the Colorado Attorneys for the Arts (CAFTA) Advisory Committee Chair and on the Board of Swallow Hill Music and Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA).
Art patrons and visitors enjoy outdoor art shows and events most every weekend during our warm weather seasons. These shows provide an opportunity for artists to show and sell their work at beautiful outdoor venues.
This workshop will focus on how to apply for shows (including juried shows), the ZAPP application process, how to create and present your outdoor booth, booth set up tips and requirements, and how to “work” your show.
How do you find out about shows? What happens in bad weather? How much inventory do you need? How do you collect payment? Is shipping an option? Learn answers to these questions and many more.
Instructor: Randy Smith
Bio: Randy Smith has sold his art at outdoor art show events for about 15 years. Along the way, he has picked up many insights on some of the hidden “ins and outs” of having a successful show. His intent with selling his work at these events was to have more direct control over the sales of his art. Randy has lived in the Fairplay area since 2002.
Noon - 1 PM lunch break. Bring a bag lunch. Refreshments and light snacks will be provided.
Location: 880 Bogue Street, Fairplay, CO 80440
This hands-on workshop is designed for creatives to increase their brand awareness and reach new audiences by creating and posting promotional (and other types of) videos to YouTube. Because YouTube is the second largest social media platform and the second largest search engine after Google, it is the most logical choice for businesses to access a large, global audience while making them more searchable on Google.
Emphasis in this workshop is hands-on experience writing a promotional video script, using an online graphic design tool, editing a video, adding music and recording voice over, as well as creating and managing a YouTube channel. And just as importantly, resources are provided to spark video creativity, as well as aid in maintaining a YouTube channel after the workshop is over.
Join us for an exciting event where we dive into the world of YouTube video promotion. Learn the tips and tricks from an industry expert on how to create engaging and effective promotional videos for your brand or business.
Bring your computer and some recorded video with you, such as:
1) record some nature video; 2) record yourself creating art; or 3) record yourself talking about why you do what you do. Make sure the video files are on your computer.
The recordings don't have to be professional. They'll be used for practice only, but it's helpful to have video files available in order to do the hands-on practice.
Instructor: Cathy Detsch
Bio: Cathy Detsch (formerly Edwards) is a Senior Learning Experience Designer for Elevance Health within the Enterprise Learning and Leadership Development team. Over the past 24 years, she’s been a teacher and a trainer in the St. Vrain Valley
School District as well as an instructional designer in post-secondary online education. Leveraging her bachelor’s degree in mass communication as well as her Master’s in e-Education, she’s developed a passion to reimagine information visually to make her eLearning courses more engaging learner experiences. And to that end, with the learner in mind, Cathy has also recently been awarded the Certified Professional in Accessible Core Competencies which helps her ensure that her learning designs are truly inclusive. Cathy’s areas of expertise include creating interactive eLearning, editing videos, and writing and recording voice over scripts for learning.
When she isn’t creating eLearning and short videos, Cathy enjoys taking solo road trips around the country (mostly the Pacific Northwest), shooting video for her personal YouTube channel and taking photos along the way. She also loves finding and hiking short trails in the Colorado foothills and mountains.
We will be talking about how to be a good host in a gallery setting and how to secure sales, whether they are for yourself or another artist, or both! Many of the skills that will be taught can be applied to any other creative industry as well as industries outside the arts. It’s a way of communication between you and the people who visit your gallery/business. We will also be discussing how to promote yourself and your work/services to the fullest. This is a great workshop to attend if you want to increase your sales and grow your business in ANY industry.
Come and learn what it means to be a genuine, caring, salesperson and the difference it can make in a business.
1 PM - 3 PM “How to Find New Opportunities for Artists”
Location: 880 Bogue Street, Fairplay, CO 80440
This workshop will show you the ins and outs of the artist application platform, CaFÉ™. Learn how to upload artwork to your portfolio, discover artist opportunities, and apply to any type of call for entry. You’ll also hear about other resources available through CaFÉ’s parent organization, the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF).
Our expert speaker will share valuable insights on how to navigate the ever-evolving art industry, find new avenues to showcase your talent, and build a sustainable career as a working artist.
Instructor:
Justine Chapel (she/her) is the communications and marketing manager for CaFÉ™ and ZAPP®, two of the technology services offered by the Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). She leads the creation and execution of both external communications and marketing efforts for both programs. Chapel received her bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of Colorado Boulder and currently resides in Denver.
These workshops are made possible
with the support of The Summit Foundation.