Don't Ask...Don't Yell.

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

I've decided to spill my guts.

It's not that I haven't wanted to talk about how I make the art you see on Lipstick Ranch, it's just that I've been too busy making that art to talk about it. And honestly...workshops in far off states always seemed like a logistical nightmare to me, so I just avoided it. But now they've got this newfangled contraption called the "Internets" and I have climbed on board the Info Express.

With the encouragement of my dear friend, the wonderful mixed-media artist, Jane DesRosier I began thinking about doing what she is doing and set up my own video workshop series on the very cool Ning network. I created a Ning site called KC Willis Collage Camp and between Jane and my other super-talented artist buddy, Joanna Pierotti, we got through the set up and I've pitched my creative tent at Collage Camp.

You can check out the particulars at http://collagecamp.ning.com/.

I have the Workshop set up for early registration, so you can go on and read the many words I have put up describing everything. If you're not already a member of the Ning network you can Sign Up for free in the box at the top right. Being a part of the workshop with access to the other Artists and the upcoming workshop videos and yours truly, requires hitting the Buy It Now button and paying the reduced registration fee. It's all explained. Gonna be fun!

And if that wasn't enough....I've decided to give away a piece of my work. Just grab the Camp icon or Badge off of the first page of http://collagecamp.ning.com/. Link back to me, so others can see what we're gonna do. Drop a comment here and tell me you've done that and your name will go in a drawing to be held on April 30th. The winner can go on my site and pick out any one image-one quote piece in any size available and it's theirs! Heck, I'd like to get in on that drawing, but I don't have anymore room on my walls.

Georgia O'Keeffe took a class when she arrived in New Mexico, wanting to know the secrets of capturing the subtle colors of the hills outside her door. "They could teach me how to paint their mountains," she said. "But they couldn't teach me how to paint mine." I just want to share with you some of my techniques and my enthusiasm for what I do, so you will take that info and paint your own mountains.

E-mail me with any questions. Thanks everyone! I look forward to seeing you there!