Willow windgood

In 2006, Willow moved to Paonia Colorado and launched a project to completely remodel and transform the old general electric building into “Elsewhere Studios”. The construction site became her studio, and the building her canvas. While still under construction she taught art classes to local high school and junior high students. Willow has choreographed and designed clothing for fashion shows and is the priestess of printing and design for blues dancing events around the country. Willow has been the Director of the Artist in Residency Program, created the Community Supported Art Library, and currently oversees building renovations, landscaping and is an avid supporter of the program.

Maya Arthur

Maya is a working artist/ carpenter/ inventor/ fabricator/ sculptor/ architect/ farmer/ Pilates Instructor/
tattoo artist/ visionary founder of Elsewhere Studios/ friend/ lover/ traveler/ monk/ elder/ helper to anyone...

He creates fantastical paintings of surreality. He lives in Paonia and is a founding Creative Director of Elsewhere Studios and woodshop extraordinaire. He is the Creative Construction Manager behind the construction of Elsewhere’s Artist Residence House and the mosaic wall surrounding the house. 

Maya helps make the artists-in-residence visions come true through his woodworking skills + imagination.

Karen

Karen arrived at Elsewhere the summer of 2010 to join her daughter, Willow, and granddaughter, Riven, and to get the formal Residency Program up and running. She comes from 24 years of teaching in many different kinds of schools, every age and every subject – most recently 7 years of teaching high school art. Her feeling about Paonia is that she has arrived home.

Karen is a very strong Libra – always seeking balance and wanting to integrate all sides of issues. She loves play and silliness, is an avid gardener, plays tai chi. She thinks every place she has lived and traveled on the Earth is incredibly beautiful.

Her artistic expression has mostly been in the area of Ceramics. Her particular love is Raku because she loves being midwife to the birth of the pots through the firing process. In her years of teaching she has also dabbled in sculpture, printmaking, batik, drawing, glassblowing, stained glass, and mosaics. Since retiring in December of 2019 after being helping found the program, she can be found in the ceramics studio or in her garden.