Intermediate/Advanced Workshops and Sessions

  • Private Creative Mentoring: personal process, healing through art, and professional artistic development

    These sessions are a dedicated space—online or in person—to focus on your creative work and your growth as an artist. Depending on your needs, we might explore painting as a tool for personal reflection and emotional processing, or dive into strengthening your technical skills, composition, and artistic voice.

    We might review works in progress, explore encaustic and mixed media techniques, plan a project from concept to completion, or develop strategies for sourcing materials and setting up your studio

    1-Hour Online or Phone Session
    A focused conversation to review works-in-progress, untangle creative blocks, or plan your next steps. This time can be reflective and process-oriented, or direct and skill-focused—tailored to what will serve you most.

    3-Hour In-Studio Session
    An immersive experience in my Portland studio, blending hands-on painting with meaningful discussion. We’ll work side-by-side—experimenting with techniques, refining your work, or using art-making as a way to process and grow.

  • Complex Art Encaustic Painting Red/Yellow/Peat Ash

    Midwinter Creative Immersion: Renewal Through Painting & Process for the New Year

    January 16–18, 2026 | Friday–Sunday | 10:30–4:30

    Kelly Williams Art Studio: Portland, OR | Tuition: $850 — includes all materials, tools, and three nourishing lunches. Limited to 4–6 participants

    Write it. Burn it. Transform it.


    In this workshop, each painting becomes an artifact—holding what you’ve released, transformed, and created. Prepare to drop down, find your voice, and build the skills that carry your power into the new year.

    This three-day midwinter creative immersion blends strong technical instruction with personal meaning, seasonal reflection, and material exploration. You’ll work with encaustic layering, fusing, carving, asemic writing, mark-making, and mixed media collage—using materials rich in symbolism and story: burnt paper, ash, and pigment.

    We’ll begin with writing and a ritual fire (weather permitting)—a nod to my time in Ireland and the transformative traditions of St. Brigid—burning words and fragments to create ash and collage elements to incorporate into your work. Whether you’re new to encaustic or ready to push your style further, you’ll be guided in developing a visual language rooted in presence, process, and experimentation.

    With only 4–6 participants, this is an intentionally intimate setting—ensuring plenty of one-on-one guidance, space to explore at your own pace, and the kind of quiet focus that lets your work deepen.

    All materials are provided, including R&F encaustic paints and pigment sticks (with generous support from R&F Handmade Paints), small student panels, medium, and mixed media supplies. You’re welcome to bring a larger or specialty panel if you prefer.

    Each day offers not just learning, but nourishment—in skill, in spirit, and at the table. I will provide coffee/tea and light bites for the morning and a hearty Irish-style lunch of homemade soups, fresh bread with space to connect. You’ll leave with work that is deeply your own—artifacts of release and renewal—and the momentum, skills, and creative clarity to carry you into the year ahead.

  • Embodiment: Personal Symbolism through Nature's Lens

    SOLD OUT

    2026 Spring Date TBA

    Ashville, NC

    TWO TEACHERS, FIVE DAYS, ONE UNFORGETTABLE CREATIVE EXPERIENCE!

    Sign up for Waiting List if you are interested in this special opportunity

    Explore your creative depths during a five-day deep dive in Ashville, NC where I will join the fabulous Bridget Benton, author of The Creative Conversation: ArtMaking as Playful Prayer. This special workshop delves into discovering your unique artistic voice by drawing inspiration from nature and integrating personal narratives. Activities include writing prompts, organic mark-making, and plant printing, with a focus on how to incorporate these techniques into encaustic art. Under the guidance of TWO passionate and experienced instructors, you'll develop a nature inspired 'creative language' to craft artwork with personal significance AND have a ton of fun!

    After our immersive art residency in Ireland, where creativity thrived, we've unearthed exciting collaborative techniques. Now, we're thrilled to extend this unique approach to you in our upcoming workshop. Join us as we unveil the fruits of our creative partnership and invite you to explore these dynamic methods and materials alongside us.

    With a special thanks to R&F handmade paints for the materials support.

    BEGINNERS: You can sign up for this workshop, just let us know so we can best help you and support your goals.

  • Go BIG--Working Large

    2026 Summer DATES TBA: email to be on waiting list

    SOLD OUT: July 25-27, 2025 | Friday-Sunday | 10:30-4:30 | $600

    Encaustic painting has beautifully unique properties that sing in larger formats. There are particular issues specific to encaustic that require specific consideration and planning to achieve the full impact with less frustration, cost and pain. I have solved and refined many of my approaches after years of painting in a full range of sizes, subjects and scale.

    This workshop is designed for those already comfortable working with encaustic paint who want to elevate their skill level and expand in size. We will be covering the many issues inherent to scaling up and tackle the complications of working large. This workshop will dive deep and will walk you through the multitude of challenges with scaling up to ‘large’ works.

    We will explore alternative tools, set-ups and substrates as well as compositional issues, large batch paint prep, ergonomics and alternative media to get the most bang for your efforts.