Willowtail Springs

A nonprofit organization

Willowtail intentionally invites in-depth ecological exploration by naturalists and creative practitioners. 
The property provides studio residents with an immersive location for the integration of the environment and art. 
In turn, residents share their work produced on-site with the community.

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Testimonials

"Much of my life experience and writing have been intimately connected to specific places in the natural world. Willowtail's entire environment -- my encounters with deer and waterfowl and ancient trees -- connected me to the land in a way that proved especially productive.
The visibly caring staff and caretakers at Willowtail created the kind of welcoming environment that encouraged both of us to make the most of our working time. There was absolute respect for our privacy and our time there.
As a Mvskoke person, my blood memories are often enriched by time spent on and near water. I was able to find that connection to my own experience in ways that surprised and satisfied me. Willowtail led me easily into a creative mindset that energized my Indigenous purpose."
Michael Thompson, President of the Board of Directors, Writer 2020, Willowtail Resident

"Our Willowtail Art Residency was a lovely gift of time and space, in the Garden Cottage, the Studio and the entire environment. My relaxed and happy soul fueled creativity and energy.  
With time to reflect, I found it healing to revisit and to begin to write about trauma that I had previously dismissed.  Exploring different poetic devices challenged my usual writing style. It was rejuvenating to paint, and cut and glue down collages, as I had plenty of inspiration.  
Really, I didn't realize how much I needed this residency until I was in the middle of it.  This was the first artist residency I had ever taken. The self-care and focus on my art will surely help to free up a bit more of my confidence as an artist. "
Tina Deschenie, Poet and Artist 2020 Willowtail Resident

"As a lifelong lover of Nature, trained forester/entomologist, avid birder and devotee of the Arts, I see Willowtail Springs as important in myriad ways. Ecologically, its spring, umbilical to an invisible aquifer in the midst of an arid pinyon-juniper forest, breeds life. The structures and plantings exist in harmony with, and in some cases enhance, the native landscape. Perhaps its strongest asset in this age of increasing human disconnection from "wildness" and over-obsession with technology is its celebration of two things: our proper oneness with the environment and the resultant creativity that reunion ignites. Education, perhaps our species' most noble enterprise, is rampant at Willowtail Springs. The place, together with its creative owners and adoring visitors, deserves to reach its boundless potential."
David Leatherman, CO State Entomologist

Unlike other residencies, Willowtail is not about a place-name recognition, or personal Cloy résumé. It is about sharing the aesthetically abundant and rich life of Peggy and Lee.They generously hold the deep, vast, warm and wide open space and time for those most fortunate to work within their land and life-setting. Thank you so very much for this gift. 
My own work needed a private boost of professionalism in a trusted space where I didn't have to explain and justify, over and over again, the worth of my work.
Willowtail Springs, the place, was patient with us. Its beauty and strength lingered beside us, just beyond our peripheral vision, just beyond our tasks-at-hand.  The studio environment swelled the impact of the generosity we received.  We were struck by the gentility of the internal heart-value which was organized around our work for us. Thank you for that, as well. 
Sonja Horoshko, Artist and Writer 2020 Willowtail Resident

I have two bodies of work relevant to its southwest Colorado environment - an eleven-year series of large paintings of individual burned trees and a three-year series of artist books about bark beetles, using the wood and bark of their target trees as medium. Since these are preoccupations for much of the region, I found not only a personal welcome but professional interest in the work. Something I have experienced in every Willowtail residency is some surprise I could not have predicted. Two years ago, Willowtail received a Winifred Clive Johnson grant to foster a collaboration together with Durango author and wildland firefighter Lorena Williams. 
Suze Woolf, Artist and 2019 Willowtail Resident

Mission

Enriching our community by building a creative network of practitioners in the arts and ecology through inspiration and place.

Background Statement

The Evolution of the Willowtail Springs' Vision and Operations

Today, with a strong Board and staff, the future of Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center to accomplish its mission looks positive: "Enriching our community by building a creative network of practitioners in the arts and ecology through inspiration and place." We got here through the hard work of two dedicated individuals and assistance from the SW Colorado community. This is how we arrived at this happy place:

In 1992, Peggy Conklin, a successful Seattle visionary artist, purchased 40 secluded acres of picturesque property outside Mancos, Colorado, repaired and renovated historical buildings, transforming the property into an inspirational oasis of natural beauty and creation. To finance her vision, she renovated the three cabins to rent them for creative retreats and hands-on study. In 1999, Peggy's friend Lee Cloy left his Property Management position at the Archdiocese of Seattle to join Peggy and teach Tai Chi classes, which they offered on-site to the local community. The two soon married and Lee took over management of Willowtail's vast resources.

By 2011, the Cloys had further enhanced the three cabins, barn and an artist studio and built a second barn and a Gallery/Meeting space. They also purchased twenty additional acres to extend the property and water systems. Small business loans and grants from the state and federal sources enabled them to send irrigation water throughout the 60 acres and create wildlife ponds, enhancing habitat for large raptors. Lee stocked the main lake with local fish. With help from scientists, Lee initiated a four-year program to save 7500 pinion and ponderosa trees from infestation by the IPS beetle. Now over 150 bird species either live on the property or migrate through. Willowtail now holds a special appeal for working scientists and artists of all disciplines; natural scientists as a site to study what the rich environment offers; and visual and performance artists for creative inspiration. The idea of supporting Residencies in the Arts and Natural Sciences soon emerged to increase accessibility to the grounds and its buildings for artists and scientists who could not afford extended stays.

2012-2019: Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center sought and gained nonprofit tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(3) organization and formed a Board to oversee it. Peggy and Lee worked hard to form partnerships with local arts groups and obtained funding from local resources and foundations to help support a program of subsidized Residencies for the Arts and Natural Sciences, which began to grow and attract both candidates and funding sources from well outside the area, both national and international. Importantly, as part of their commitment, each studio resident agrees to share their process and work with the local community via presentations, demonstrations, workshops and/or classes.

Despite these encouraging programmatic successes, various economic challenges led to a need to change how Willowtail is managed in the future. Fortunately, in 2018, long-time supporter and Board member, Margi Gaddis, stepped in to buy the property and lease it back to Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center. Although Margi passed on in 2022, terms of the agreement with her heirs, which is in effect until December 2027, stipulate that the Cloys remain on the premises to continue operations. This enabled the Board and Staff to reorganize the business model into one combined entity, operating under a 501(c)(3) umbrella, which provides increased operational efficiencies and an ability to expand educational programs focused on the environment.

Now in 2023, with a strong Board and staff we are fully confident in our enhanced capability to grow our mission. The environmental focus of Willowtail Springs Nature Preserve and Education Center definitely looks promising. We feel that we can confidently and truly "enrich our community by building a creative network of practitioners in the arts and ecology through inspiration and place."

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Willowtail Springs

other names

Willowtail

Year Established

2012

Tax id (EIN)

45-4482956

Category

Arts, Culture & Humanities

Organization Size

Small Organization

Address

10451 County Road 39
Mancos, CO 81328

Mailing

PO Box 89 10451 RD 39
Mancos, CO 81328

Service areas

Montezuma County, CO, US

Phone

970-560-0333

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