Where the heck has she been? I could have said Rehab, but the fact is I considered that and then realized there can not be a cure for Collage Addiction. Who want such a thing? Fact of the matter is...while January is sometimes a slow and lazy month, perfect for holiday recuperation...January 2010 has been one of the busiest on record for yours truly. Time just gets away from you once in awhile. There's that...and then there's the ADD I have struggled with forever...and no it doesn't mean Absolutely Darling and Dear...and while I may be those things...the fact remains that I have been trying to go on-line for weeks and get this wonderful natural remedy for ADD that I love...but I keep getting distracted!
January was already a crazy, almost alive thing right from the start. In-person classes at my studio, ever-growing numbers on
Collage Camp, orders for
my work from ski-resort towns who find this time of year a busy one for them, and the launching of my
on-line art marketing class...first video class up and running with energy and input from all involved. But here's what happened that made it go from nuts to she-has-got-to-be-kidding. Here's also where I show you an example of being fab and fearless when it comes to promoting yourself and your work.
WESA Show at the Denver Merchandise Mart. WESA means Western English Sales Association. (As in Western riding..yee haw...and English riding...tally ho...which almost always involves a horse). If you are not working in a western genre in your art it means nothing...if you are it means you wake up 3 days before the show starts and say "OMG..how the heck did I miss the deadline to get a space in this?" (Way back in September mind you). So the wagon wheels start turning. But I have been away from the Mart for a couple of years and have no connections there right now. What to do? In
Marketing Mindset we have learned the power of asking "What If..." So on the Sunday before the Tuesday that is show set-up day I post it on Facebook.
"Anybody know anybody who has a showroom at the Merchandise Mart? Looking to rent a little corner for the WESA show." I am a firm believer in throwing it out there. WHAT IF there was a spot available somewhere. So many wonderful things have happened in my art career because I wasn't afraid to ask and wasn't afraid to imagine...What if.
Sooooo....I have 3 wonderful FB friends e-mail me with ideas and names. Yikes...this might really happen! On Monday I called a gentleman named Don who had what he described as toy showroom in a not so good location. He wasn't even going to be open during WESA because this was not a toy buying crowd. What the heck...I'll take a look. I drove the 40 minutes to the Mart and met with Don. Turns out it was a toy showroom but it was on the first floor of the Mart (the busiest floor) and kitty-corner from a hugely popular western furnishings showroom. For some reason Don thought this a bad location. I'm looking at it and my mind is shouting..."Eureka! There's gold in them thar hills!" Or maybe it was just "I'll take it!" So Don GIVES me this corner in this great location, but to make it look like something I have to first move 5000 rubber snakes and 2000 mood rings somewhere else. I also have to fill this spot with work on a one-day notice. Hubby Logan moves snakes, KC empties the walls of her gallery and we're good to go. Not the prettiest set-up on record...but I'm at WESA! Wow...God is good. I might be brave....but God shows favor on a distracted collage artist and I run with it.
So to make a really long story even longer....I worked many hours with a drive in Denver traffic for the 5 days of the show and came away with new friends, new business (12 shops and galleries to be exact) and new enthusiasm for getting my work in front of the public and for fearless marketing. I also was able to secure a really wonderful spot on the first floor for the largest show of the year at the Mart, The Gift and Resort Show the end of February. How I found THAT spot (in a place where there is usually a waiting list for first floor spots) is a whole 'nother story. So I say thanks to my FB friends, thanks to the cowgirls on my work who speak for me everyday, and to God who continues to bless the work of my hands.
Hmmmmm...now I'm eyeing the Vegas Mart....What if.......
Oh and the Giveaway that I talked about in the blog before this one is still going on. Will be until February 14th. So get in on it. And if you posted earlier this month and have an angel coming it will ship after Feb 1. xxoo
Calamity Jane who wants us all to know...."A girl with a husband can be limited in what she can do. A girl with a rifle ain't got that problem."
