New Work from TattooDreams Studio

We have been busy here at TattooDreams Studio on Purple Hill. Our collectors will reap the reward of our efforts! If you see something here that ignites your soul- contact us jphecker (at) bluemarble (dot) net. We can help make this part of your collection!
~Jon and Patricia Hecker
TattooDreamers



The Artists Palette
Roughly 12" high. On this palette resides a wonderful quote from St. Francis of Assisi. Speaks to the creative spirit of craftswomen and artists. A must for your studio!
125.00




Affirmations Mirror
Black stain on oak adorned with positive affirmations. Affirmations are of various heights and are accented with a raised copper tacked edge. Very hand hewn!
Excellent for an entry way to your home or business or wherever the tone of positivity needs to be prominent!
20" x 28" Can be hung horizontal or vertical. Wired on the back with stainless steel cable.
$650.00



Quilted Reflections Mirror
Hand painted and air brushed patterned pieces adorn this bold mirror. This matches everything!
Wood is stained black over oak. Patterned shapes are of various heights and are accented with a raised copper tacked edge. Very hand hewn!
20" x 28"
$850.00



Affirmations Mirror
20" x 28" Cherry with raised words in black. Affirmations are of various heights. A wonderful way to set the tone!
Cherry copper tacked raised border.
$650.00

☀ What I Learned at Ann Arbor ☂

What I Learned at Ann Arbor
Sometimes life's lessons are best learned from watching nature. In our case, it was ants.
Yes, the lowly often stepped upon ant.
Sales were exceedingly slow in the 100º heat at Ann Arbor this year. I sat on our grey utility box behind our booth on Friday evening. The low box gave me a great vantage point to ant watching.
It had cooled a little. Streets were full but no one buying much. I had time on my hands and lessons to be learned!

A colony of ants found some broken chips on the sideway behind our booth. Perhaps remnants from us feeding Timmy the baby squirrel behind our booth earlier in the day. Timmy and his Dad inhabit the grounds in the front of Angell Hall on State Street. They must love the artists coming to town each year since their diet becomes infused with a new array of snacks and friendly animal loving artists to play with them. These cute squirrels were fed, photographed and befriended by many of us! Timmy loved peeled grapes cut in half, pistachios my husband shared with him and gluten free edamame chips. Only the best for Timmy!

The ants however added a whole new dimension to what occurred in my hundred square feet of overly expensive 'real estate' for four days!

Lesson One: Ants don't work alone.
They take on huge tasks and work in groups. Overwhelming to most insects they whittle away the sides of big things making them smaller and lighter, providing nourishment at the same time. They took on huge tasks and broke them into smaller tasks they could handle.
Brilliant!

Lesson Two: They communicated with one another! If they can do this, why can't our politicians manage this task? Why can't we do this with one another?

Lesson Three: A few leader ants rode atop the small chip and gave directions! Clearly female ants charting the course not wanting to get lost and willing to ask for directions should they become disoriented along the way. Never needing GPS they were guided by instinct. What better way to live! It's the journey people! I digress....

Lesson Four: They traveled out of the path of being stepped on by moving their chip into the crevasse of the sidewalk. They stayed low and did their thing! Honestly, I don't think they cared that I was watching them. What a blissful state to travel through life in!

Lesson Five: They accepted help along the way. Other ants took over when the fist squad got tired. Something we all need to remember. We can help one another!

Lesson Six: When the rain came and splashed on their efforts, they took cover under the leaf I gave them and picked up where they left off despite their chip being relocated. A few inches to us, probably miles to them! They did not cease!

Lesson Seven: Past errors need not be repeated. We can learn from them and move on! A good reminder!

Lesson Eight: Sometimes it's Gods smallest creatures that can teach us life's biggest lessons - if we are willing to watch and learn!

They never gave up.

I can learn from this!

~Patricia

Ann Arbor Summer Art Fair - You Still Need Art!

During the next few days, the right of passage known as the Ann Arbor Summer Art Fairs will emerge once again. Too many artists to count and even more art loving patrons gather each summer amidst the meandering streets and sunny skies of Ann Arbor Michigan. Multiple shows reach into one another so much so some don't know where one begins and another ends. It is there you will find everything from wonderfully imaginative work to 'stuff' impaled on a stick. (There is a name for such 'stuff' I will refrain from using here.)

I will be there! My TattooDream boxes will make their debut at the Summer Art Fair also known as The Michigan Guild Show. My booth is #8 on State Street near the steps to Angell Hall by the Quad. With a show so large, one needs GPS and comfy shoes to take it all in!
By doing this show, I'll mark having done all of the major shows that concurrently go on for these four (usually sweltering) summer days in this artsy enclave.

In my booth, you will see a sign. It simply says "YOU STILL NEED ART"......

For so long, the mantra has been to not be seen spending money. Guess what? You have my permission to begin shopping again! Yes, you heard it here! The concept is to be selective and buy things that enhance your life, feed your soul, and nourish your being.
So what I'm saying is---BUY ART! Buy art this week. BUY ART NOW!!

Find your favorite artist or a new one and re-establish buying art. (We know you haven't forgotten how to do this!)

We have not gone away, we're still here.
Here fighting to hang on in a screwed up economy, pay our bills and and carve away the dust to uncover our dreams and prosper once again.
We need you!
YOU are a part of that process.
Without YOU, artists cannot keep creating.
Join in the process of keeping art alive again. It's easy, really. All it takes is you giving up something of value to you in exchange for me giving up something of value of mine.

Resume the passion of collecting!! YOU STILL NEED ART!

Patricia

Girlfriends BFF Rubber Stamped Box

♫ Hey- Girls just wanna have fun!! ♬ ♫
That was a song as I recall!
My Girlfriends BFF Box has been a hit at recent art fairs. Ensuing laughter and comments like "you gotta get this.." Handmade cherry wood box measures 5" wide x 5" deep x 6" high (12.7 cm x 12.7 cm x 15.87 cm ). Perfect for the one who shares your inner most secrets- your BFF!
Adorned with fun sayings you and her will get......
"If I get tired of shopping, I sit down and try on some shoes!!"

Lined on the bottom with black velvet. Pink ruffles and great messages abound the waistline of this most sought after box.

My boxes are quietly making their way into esteemed box collections around the world- let yours be one of them!

••I love making special things for special people!••

More boxes can be found on my etsy site:

48.00

FREE Domestic shipping!

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