Off to California we went to interview Kimberly Wlassak who has a fine art shop on Zibbet called Gerushia’s New World. In Kimberly’s shop you will find original art, prints and her new line of affordable original watercolors. There are print sets perfect for framing and a line of ACEOs for the collector.Kim runs specials and always a Daily Deal, so be sure to check out her delightful shop.Please enjoy the interview, leave Kim a comment, and then use the Share Tools so others can read it, too. Please spread the Zibbet Love!
Well, hello there. My name is Kimberly Wlassak. I am a Southern California artist, currently living Under The Apple Tree. I grew up in a home surrounded by art. Inspired by dreams and nightmares, Johnny Appleseed skies, crayons and The Ozarks, I fell naturally into a life of odd whimsy.I adore art….all forms. It’s all I know, really. In high school, I had a brief love affair with charcoal portraits and acrylic. But, it was at the age of 7 that my true loves took up residence in my heart….watercolor and collage. Bringing these two elements together allows me to physically create the worlds I pull from my dreams and nightmares. Contrary to popular belief, my work is not digital, which is obvious when looking at and touching my original pieces. But….in print, people often assume my art is digital. I am truly an old fashioned cut and paste gal.Although I am a self-taught collage artist, I studied art all through high school. In my senior year, I was honored with a special scholarship that allowed me to attend the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Ohhhh…and check this out ~ My art teacher was Jewell Lasseter, mother of John Lasseter, you know, from Pixar! That’s my little claim to fame!
Well, I run my art business, “Gerushia’s New World.” (Pronounced ja ROO sha). Gerushia was my great aunt and she was connected to me on both sides of my family, which is why I chose her name to represent my art business. She had a very short life and, of course, I never knew her. You can read about Gerushia’s life on my blog.I also collect vintage photos with a passion. Especially circus sideshow photos and anything spooky or creepy! Mr. Gerushia and I go to the local Southern California flea markets and spend hours looking at and making deals on vintage photos. I read a lot and always have at least 2 books going at once and I love listening to music, I love to eat fried green tomatoes and I am a gardening fanatic!I am a vivid dreamer. I have always had vivid nightmares as well. My work is inspired by my dreams and nightmares mostly. It allows me to take control of the scary things in my sleeping head. This is always such a difficult question for me to answer, because truly, I look up to so many people for so many different reasons. Narrowing it down, I’d have to say the person I most admire is my mom. She passed away in 2009. My mom was an artist, although she didn’t realize it. She was a hand-quilter. She made these amazing pieces of hand-stitched art. To her, they were simply a way to keep her family warm in the winter. She created delicious meals, decorated beautiful cakes, made clothes for me and my Barbies and grew an accidental cottage garden. She did all these things from her heart and whistled through it all. She was an artist in so many ways, but never took the time to realize that. She just did what came naturally to her.
Ohhhh, and I admire Maxfield Parrish because he is the master of blue.Collecting vintage photos! Looking deeply into a 100 year old photo and watching all the people that are no longer walking on this breathing earth just fascinates me.I am also passionate about cottage gardens. The region I live in is very hot in the summertime…and dry too. So, I am challenged on all levels to create a beautiful, colorful, thriving garden that has the appearance of an English cottage garden. It is difficult, to say the least!I love the ease of listing on Zibbet. I also enjoy participating in the forums because they’re so friendly and inviting. Not snarky and full of cat fights. Everyone is always helpful. Zibbet also has a great staff. Anytime I’ve ever had questions or problems with my shop, someone is on it right away!Hmmmm….something like a “Treasury” would be cool. They’re fun to make and fun to look at. Splendiferous eye-candy!
I’d love to see Zibbet re-work the shop stats. I wish they were more specific…like Statcounter.com. For marketing purposes, it would be nice to see where the shop hits are coming from.Also….I’d like to see a big push to get more fine art on Zibbet. I don’t have any ideas on how to do that, but it sure would be nice to get a wider range of offerings.Holy Cow…I spend more time these days promoting than I do creating, which makes me sad. I promote on my blog, twitter, 2 facebook pages, and pinterest. I have ads on other blogs as well. I also keep a local presence by participating in regional shows and submitting to cool galleries….and, I always carry my business cards in my purse and hand them out whenever it’s appropriate.
I think the most important thing is to commit. After I left the other venue that starts with an “E”….I floated around for awhile. I tried a few other storefronts too. When I found Zibbet, I just committed to my shop and didn’t look back. My business cards have my Zibbet shop address on them.Go into the forums and meet people. Always post your new listings and make sure your photos are clean, clear and precise.Living in a cottage surrounded by trees and damp leaves and the smell of dirt. I want to open my windows and see lightning and feel the static of a summer thunderstorm raise the hair at the base of my neck. A place with humid moss dripping from the tree limbs, swirls of fireflies and skies the color of a week old bruise.Tags: Featured Zibbeters, Gerushias New World
