Celebration of Artistic Career of Shelly Rasche, International Commercial Artist at Windsong Acres, Camp Point

Windsong Acres, located near Camp Point, Illinois, will host a celebration of the remarkable career of internationally-published commercial artist Shelly Rasche this summer, July 29-August 14.  The three week event will feature:
*  a comprehensive display of her paintings, drawings, and pottery, along with “Stories from behind the scenes”
*  a candlelit dinner with a special program and open house each Saturday evening by reservation
*  a silent auction of some of Shelly’s never-before-offered items to create a scholarship for area art students

Now retired from creating new commercial designs, Shelly is still doing pottery in spite of battling the effects of Alzheimer’s. However, more than 750 of her designs are still being promoted worldwide by her agents (Art Licensing, International, based in Vermont).  Interestingly, Shelly’s most recent product samples were two different “Peace” Angel designs that a London Company has made into counted cross stitch kits that are sold all over Europe.  The directions on the packaging of the “Peace Angels” are written in both Russian and English!

An incredibly prolific artist, Shelly has produced thousands of designs over the past 35 years.  Her work has been featured on a wide variety of commercial products, including greeting cards, prints, Bounty paper towels, magazines and books, ornaments, plush animals, music boxes, puzzles, figurines, clothing, fabric, counted cross stitch kits, yard flags, TV trays, mugs, baby bedding, wall paper, candles, and much more.  She even designed the complete line of “Grinch” gift items that were sold in the mass market (Walmart, K-Mart, Walgreens, etc.) when the movie starring Jim Carrey was released.

This retrospective art event will formally open Friday/Saturday, July 29-30 with special activities including musical guests, refreshments, and some scheduled opportunities to tour the artist’s residence.  The silent auction and a self-guided tour of the artwork will remain open daily for three weeks, ending Sunday, August 14.  The Saturday evening Candlelit Dinners on July 30, August 6, and August 13 will be held in Shelly’s Scale House studio.  Limited seating is available by advance reservation only, and will include a short program of stories and anecdotes from her career, along with the opportunity to tour additional artwork and her home décor in the artist’s residence.  A detailed schedule of activities (and updates about the silent auction) will be available online at “Windsong Acres” on Facebook.

The silent auction will include items never before offered to the public, including original artwork, sketches of greeting cards and other published items, items and sketches she designed for “The Grinch” merchandise, rare drawings and limited edition lithograph prints from Shelly’s college days, and more.   Various other prints, product samples, and memorabilia will be available for purchase throughout the show; however, all the proceeds of the silent auction will be used to fund an art scholarship for area students in Shelly’s name.

For more information, and to schedule an
interview or to schedule story coverage, contact:

Jeff Rasche
Phone:  217-257-9940
Email:  JeffR@adams.net
2121 East 2400^th Street
Camp Point, IL  62320