Want to know what the previous winners of our Global Talent Search (GTS) really think about their experience? We recently interviewed the previous winners of the GTS to share their experiences with you. We’re incredibly excited to relaunch the GTS this year, and we thought our readers would love a sneak peek into the competition process (and what it’s like to win!) directly from the winners.
Above: From puzzles to packaging to greeting cards: here are several products featuring Kate’s stunning work, as a result of her winning the GTS & being represented by Lilla Rogers Studio!
This week we’re sharing an interview with Kate Mason who won the GTS Grand Prize in 2015; her prize signed her on to Lilla Rogers Studio for art representation. Kate is a self-taught artist who entered the GTS three years in a row, and won on her third try!
Some of Kate’s clients include: Blue Q, Demdaco, Hasbro, Headu, Publix, Etsy South Australia, Roger La Borde, and many more!
Read on to find out all about Kate’s experience with the Global Talent Search (GTS) and what it’s like to have an agent!
Make Art That Sells: Hi, Kate! Thanks for taking time to chat with us today. We’d love to start out by asking you why you decided to enter the Global Talent Search?
Kate Mason: Because I really wanted to challenge myself & because I wanted to be part of Lilla’s agency.
Did you think you had a chance at winning?
I secretly hoped I did but honestly, no.
If you previously entered the GTS & didn’t win, tell us about your experience.
First year I was pretty new to illustration. Second time, I felt I could give it a proper go & hoped for top 50 but never thought I’d make it to top 6! The third time, I got lucky and won! Dream. Come. True.
What did you find useful about the Global Talent Search assignments? What did you learn?
I LOVED Lilla’s assignments. There’s still nothing quite like it in the real world yet. Having both a brief and complete freedom to create something magical. I love the researching, the dreaming, figuring out little details to lift it higher. I loved the process. I tried to block out all my fears & everyone else in the process. I immersed myself into my own creative cocoon.
Kate was commissioned to do the artwork for this bird house, part of an international garden product line that she got as a result of being represented by Lilla Rogers Studio.
Did the Global Talent Search help you prepare for your career in any way? If so, how?
Yes absolutely. And Lilla’s courses too. Working to a brief was a great experience for me. Also, just seeing the other entries was very useful. So many other people submitting work in their own way. There are so many individual styles and ways to solve each creative requirement.
What advice would you give to people who are considering entering this year’s competition?
Just do it!!!! Nothing is wasted, You’ll never know if you don’t show up. And regardless, its a learning process & each time you grow.
Some of Kate Mason’s beautiful artwork on decorative pots and a garden mat.
Did you find any of the MATS courses helpful in preparing you for the competition or for your career as an artist after winning GTS?
Yes ALL of them. And I’d like to do them ALL again.
How did you feel when you won?
I can’t even describe. Just gobsmacked Lilla saw something in me. Pinchable moment. :)
How has winning the GTS been beneficial for your career?
Well I now get paid to do illustration with a wide range of interesting clients & jobs. Many of whom I would never have found before GTS.
How do you like being represented by Lilla Rogers Studio?
Makes me teary thinking about those ‘Studio ladies’ & lovely Lilla herself. Being part of the Agency is something I am so proud of & it means more to me than they will ever know. My life is so busy with family & business but now I have this wonderful opportunity to do paid illustration also and lots of lovely clients. It’s just been wonderful.
We are so delighted for Kate Mason and her creative successes, and we’re so excited for this year’s winner! Who will it be? Will it be you?
See more of Kate’s delightful artwork on her website and on her Instagram. And read more about her here.
Want to know more about the 2018 Global Talent Search? Find out all you need to know here!
Registration for the 2018 GTS is open NOW! Everyone who registers will receive at least one brand-new professional assignment brief created just for this year’s competition by master teacher and top art agent Lilla Rogers.
xo
The MATS Team
