Art & Soul Blues TattooDream Box

Handmade cherry box with music themes measures 8" wide and 3 3/4" deep and 7 3/8" high (20.32 cm x 95.25 cm x 17.78 cm ). It could hold a huge array of ACEO (trade cards), tea bags or anything else you desire. A cute box with bronze colored feet and black trim. Emblazoned with musical images adorning all sides and inside lid. A lift off lid reveals all your treasures. Inside, the bottom is lined in black velvet.

On the handle knob this quote- "We are the music makers and the dreamers of dreams."

♥ Boxes this size beg to be handled and loved.
I hope you consider 'loving' one of these soon! ♥

Ideal graduation or birthday gift!

55.00 on my etsy site:

LOST- What A Ride It's Been...

For the last 6 years, Jon and I have sat spell-bound by the TV show LOST. For two individuals who don't watch much TV, this is amusing. An amazing cast and crew have taken over our lives and living room embarking on a weekly journey of intrigue, faith, mystery and perhaps even destiny. What began with teasers for what appeared more like a TV mini-series, a show emerged like no other! Each week the tables were turned, the stakes upped and as any LOST aficionado knows, more questions would rise to the surface with few answers revealed. The black and white, the good and the evil.

Thanks to this show, we've derived a new vernacular. To me, a hallmark of something superior! Akin to a good movie, these quotable quotes will be around for a long time.
I've always felt that the good things in life need to leave us wanting more. Maybe not getting it, but wanting it nonetheless. As we prepare for the final episode, we're certainly left wanting more. Wanting more from an amazing ensemble of gifted actors who have pushed us to tears, made us laugh and left us feeling like we really knew them. Their nuances are unmistakable. Their once unrecognized personas grace magazine covers and our hearts- we now know them well. These gifted thespians will find new roles, but the ones they portrayed on LOST will be with us forever.
The brilliance of this ingenious show is a mix of excellent direction, superb writing and acting that blend flawlessly. All have left us guessing, frustrated and many weeks scratching our heads wishing the show was longer than one hour. In essence, wanting more!

Good things do end and in this spirit, I wish them amazing success in their future roles and careers. For the extraordinary writers, directors, set designers and creators who have crafted for the loyal LOST followers a journey of epic proportion, I wish them new projects that will captivate our minds and push their creative energies.
I've heard the ending will be 'beautiful'--I'm sure it will be!


I post here to my blog a few items from a recent 'food drop' by the Dharma folks. Funny how they knew to bring tequila! It'll be enjoyed in the hatch!
Here's to LOST!

Namastè

༺♥ "We Do" ♥༻

Twenty-six years ago today, Jon and I got married! It was a sunny day with a cloud dotted sky in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We said our vows and walked outside the beautiful Spanish Colonial St. Anthony Catholic Church. Palm fronds rustled in the breeze and our life together began. St. Anthony is the patron Saint of 'things lost'. For us he represents us finding one another at the perfect time.
In sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer. We began as inseparable friends whose lives were all about art and that has never changed.

Here's to many more years of growing together.
Each day is a blessing that unfolds before us.

•••••♥♥•••••
Jon and Patricia Hecker

Reflections of A Journey- Broad Ripple Art Fair

Twenty four years ago my husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary while exhibiting at the Broad Ripple Art Fair. We loved the experience and this show ignited something inside us. It was our very first art fair. We sold $2.00 handmade cards. The finishing touches to our display were completed the night before by my husband and my father-in-law. Amazingly, everything fit into a Honda Civic! Our canopy was delayed in transit and didn't arrive in time for the show. By Monday morning my scorched nose was peeling as the UPS man delivered our much needed display tent. Little did we know that that weekend set into motion, what would become for two young artists, a way of life.

For some the month of May in Indy means racing. For the art festival fair goer and artist, it means Broad Ripple Art Fair! For me, it signifies the anticipation of a busy art fair season. The wonderful people who attend and support the artists who exhibit at Broad Ripple Art Fair make this event one not to miss for the artist or the collector. We've loved doing this show, rain or shine over the years.

Few collectors leave this show empty-handed. Something special awaits every taste and budget. The dedicated fair goer will arrive armed with shopping bags, sun block, cash and credit cards. All necessary accouterments to fully enjoy this event! Finding the perfect art treasure, the one that really speaks to you, is paramount. Winding down with friends to enjoy live music, artist demonstrations in the art center and neighbors you'll meet, only add to a great weekend.

Any artist exhibiting knows the degree of passion, frustration, dedication and long hours that are instilled into honing their craft. This becomes fully realized when they connect with the right person- the one who recognizes this effort. This stirring is both tangible and rewarding. The culmination of time seems unimportant once your work is fully appreciated. This exchange is just one of the many beautiful aspects of art.
When hard earned money is exchanged for hand made work, the circle of art is complete.
The art of buying something handcrafted carries with it
-the soul and the fingerprints,
-the emotion and the passion,
the breath of its maker.

My husband Jon builds wooden boxes and furniture that I emblazon with words and images stamped in paint. Somewhat resembling tattoo's on wood, we call them TattooDreams. Each piece is a one of a kind. It's our newest body of work and one that has come into it's own within the last few years. Some pieces are adorned with tied silk, beads, pistachio shells, seeds, bottle caps and assorted collected ephemera. Collectors find images and words they relate to on my work and in doing so quickly claim the piece that speaks to them! Custom pieces can be ordered as well.

There are few venues an individual can casually go where they'll encounter as much original art and speak directly to the artists as at an art fair. These are special events that communities need to support to keep the handmade spirit alive and artists thriving. One of the last things handmade in our country is our wealth of fine art and fine craft. It's a part of our culture that needs to be fed and fostered to stay vibrant.

Twenty four years later, we're happy to be juried into and exhibiting at the 40th Annual Broad Ripple Art Fair. Our display and work have gone through numerous revisions and no longer fit in the back of a Honda! We've participated in approximately 480 shows across the country, traveled more than 500,000 miles and met wonderful collectors who have shared their homes and collections with us. In carving this path, we've amassed an amazing group of talented friends who share our same passion and dedication.
The circle gets wider and continues to surround us with an extraordinary life that begins and ends each day with ideas, images and our passion for making and selling our work.
The people and places we've traveled and the countless hours we've driven are forever ingrained in our hearts. They are with us when we enter our studio every day.

Gas prices may rise, the economy may shrink, but mans intrinsic nature to create handmade objects of beauty will never cease. The passion of people who collect this beauty will never die. As humans we desire to covet things that fascinate, magnify and accentuate our lives. It is these very objects that surround us in our homes, feed our souls and nurture our ongoing quest for things that make us feel good and whole. In capturing what beauty an artist has created, the collector becomes part of this magical circle we call art.

We hope you'll come by our booth. TattooDreams can be found in Booth # 214 in the Artists Lot, on the right hand side.


Never forget- You still need art!

Patricia Hecker

Broad Ripple Art Fair-May 15th & 16th-
Indianapolis, Indiana

Fears Given Flight Healing Vessel

This box was done during the last week. It began as a story box and turned into a box comprised of healing thoughts and feelings that welled deep inside. A cathartic box of emotions set to words and given flight.

decide • make shampoo horns • daily try to remember to laugh • fearlessly acknowledge fear • breathe in love • dig in the dirt • always trust in yourself and God • connect with nature and wind • shine

forgive others and yourself • trust • follow your star • pray • listen • adjust and know you will be okay • hope • envision the goal • create • sit quietly and dream • heal • believe

surrender guilt and loss • imagine joy • take the back roads • bloom as needed • make time for peaceful healing rest • renew • help others freely • love • invite joy into all of your home • listen • act

eat ice-cream daily • cry • know you are much stronger than you think • honestly forgive • paint in the sunshine • be extra kind • wave to animals • hug friends • believe strongly in hope

Up Close- in an artsy kind of way!

On my etsy site
425.00

Vessels such as this will be in my booth at art fairs this summer.
Each a one of a kind awaiting the right person to make them their own!

Patricia
TattooDreamer