Indiana Art Fair at the Indiana State Museum

This weekend we have our first show of 2012. It's the Indiana Art Fair held at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis. We have new work and look forward to the year ahead.
Please join us and come see the artists that will be exhibiting this weekend.
Above is our new Tribal Mask Vessel. It will be in our booth this weekend.

Jon and Patricia Hecker
TattooDreams
Booth# 1-12 On the ground floor/Canal Level

••• Sara's Box •••

Every once in a while an artist is gifted a great commission. This box was one of those commissions. We met the woman gifting this box to her sister in Austin at the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. When she saw our work, she knew that a box made by us would be the ideal gift for her sisters 40th birthday.
Ideas were shared and stamps were culled and so began the box. Jon crafted this elegant tapered box in cherry. A fitting and beautiful canvas for me to stamp the desired ideas that came our way. We were given a wide berth in which to create this box and that was appreciated. Giving an artist that freedom usually yields a finished piece that is pleasing to the person who commissioned it as well as the artist.
Such was the case here.
The box is adorned with a wide array of earthy stones. Turquoise, jasper, sea shells, chestnuts, glass and seed beads fall gracefully from the linen cords as well as beads we crafted ourselves. Atop the vessel sits a wolf.



We know that Sara's box will be gifted in the spirit it was made~ with great love.
An artist can ask no more than to give it their all.



Happy Birthday Sara!

Patricia & Jon

Smoky Hill River Festival- Salina, Kansas

TattooDreams hits the road once again. This time we head west to Salina Kansas to do the Smoky Hill River Festival.
This unique show is like no other. Part art festival, part music festival, part homecoming. The entire town comes out for this annual event. The park is decorated from top to bottom- every tree, the pond, the bridges - everything.

The event takes over the town and is preceded by a search for a lucky medallion. Each year the medallion is hidden and clues are given. The lucky person who finds the medallion gets all kinds of things including admission buttons to the show. To say this is a unique venue is an understatement. Show director Karla Prickett is one of the best! She is boundless energy and ideas all packed into one of the sweetest people I know!

I was asked to place 3 of my pieces of work on the tables for the Collectors Breakfast the first day of the show. I made these vases especially for that purpose. I only made a few so orders can be taken. They hold a recycled plastic water bottle so real flowers and water can be used.

There is something wonderfully gentile about this show. It harkens back to homecomings and reunions when everyone in town knew everyone else. A familiarity seldom found these days. A stepping back in time, at least for a summer weekend. One where I hope to leave my story boxes behind and bring home good memories from people who wanted to buy my work.

~Patricia
This vase can be ordered by going to my etsy site: http://tattoodreams.etsy.com

$68.00

Reflecting Affirmations Mirror

New from our studio- our Reflecting Affirmations Mirror. We've been wanting to do this design for a while and this week it all came together. I love having an idea and see it come to life so quickly! A true collaboration of our skills.
Made from cherry with mixed woods of varying height and thickness for each word. The frame has a Danish oil on it and each word block is stamped, sanded and painted.


Ready to move into your life!
20" x 28"

650.00

SOLD

~ Jon and Patricia Hecker

CD Cabinet Commission from TattooDreams

Every year on New Years Day our studio gets cleaned. This year we've been too busy with a few remaining orders to tackle the task. In the meantime, we completed this commissioned cd cabinet for a wonderful collector! Her patience was appreciated as the form came to life.

Made of cherry, accented with opulent gold paint, rubber stamped and finished in Danish oil, it was delivered to the Orchard Gallery in Fort Wayne, IN where our client will pick it up.
We hope it will be treasured!

Commissions gladly accepted.
Their completion depends on the complexity and our studio/show schedule.

Jon & Patricia Hecker

The Snowman Rocketh'!

Needless to say.......

We have snow.......

Lots and lots of snow.......

Jon cleared the upper deck of 12 inches of snow and found a 3 foot plus icicle which became his ice guitar!
I love this crazy man!

Patricia

Shaman Spirits TattooDream Box

Some things look yummy up close. This Shaman Spirits Box was one of them. It was on my etsy site for less than 24 hours and sold to a past collector. My husband captured this boxes' aesthetic in a wonderful way!

Here's to making art and selling art!

Patricia

SOLD!!

♣ Needfire Groupies! ♣

♣
A quick little entry about one of my favorite bands- Needfire. They're a Celtic Rock band from Texas. They performed at Cottonwood Arts Festival (Dallas) last weekend. They were scheduled to play last May at the spring show and got rained out. More rain this year, but not enough to stop them or their fans from enjoying their energy.
Then again, what's to stop men in kilts and Doc Martens and great rock music!!!
This is my good good friend Bonnie and I. We're playing hooky from our nearby booths to take in the music and visuals!
Photo was taken by Jon. He too played hooky to catch us watching the band. It was worth it!
♣

♣
Pat

Birthday Barack-A-Mole

Some words become part of our vocabulary even when they are not real words. Barack-a-mole is one of those words! What began as evening pep-rallies at our kitchen counter over a few shots of tequila, limes and salt and the hope of Obama winning the election, have continued! We now toast to the small victories. A week of great work and new ideas formulating, a check from a gallery, an Etsy sale.... The everyday stuff that, on some days, feels like great accomplishments despite the odds life is handing us at the moment.

On April 12th, we celebrated Jons 48th birthday. On that day, 48 years ago, a quiet unassuming man was born. 25 years ago I married him and every day I am eternally grateful for his light in my life. He keeps me laughing on the toughest of days and is the defintion of a soul mate. Our job is to make art together every day!
I am blessed! I will hold his hand and heart forever!

He also makes killer guacamole.....hmm...Barack-A-Mole! This latest batch was served in a bowl we traded for from a fellow Etsy artist, Kristin Love. She creates beautiful heartfelt bowls that echo sentiments of hope and kindness. In exchange, we made for her a TattooDream Box for her handmade cards. Though many miles apart, her Hope bowl now lives with us and our card box with her.

Here is Jon's recipe for Barack-A-Mole.

2 or 3 medium size ripe avocados
2-3 cloves of garlic
1/2 c. red onion
1 roma tomato
1/2 lime squeezed
1/4 c. fresh cilantro finely chopped
1 tbsp. sour cream (optional)
a few finely diced jalepeno pepper slices
1 tsp. coarse salt to taste

Prepare the ingredients:
Finely chop the garlic
Slice onion into thin slices and chop into pieces.
Slice tomato in half, remove inside flesh and seeds. Then cut outer layer into strips and chop into small pieces.
Rinse a small bundle of cilantro thoroughly, dry with a towel and chop into fine pieces.
Once all of the above is prepared, cut each avocado in half and remove pit. Scoop with spoon and place into bowl.

Begin by mashing the avocados thoroughly. Next, incorporate the onion, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes. Add the sour cream to bring consistency to a creamy suspension. Squeeze the juice of half a lime and mix thoroughly. This will bring it to the final texture. Cover the mix with plastic wrap and chill for several hours. When ready, salt to taste, adding roughly 1 teaspoon. Mix thoroughly.

Tips for the best results: Pick avocados that are firm and not mushy. A slight resistance means it is ready. If it is very firm, place into a brown paper bag and store at room temperature for 2-3 days until soft enough for preparation.

Some recommended chips:
El Milagro Mexican kitchen style chips or Lundberg's sea salt flavored Rice chips.

Enjoy with your favorite tequila and Mexican dish. Olé!

Celebrate all the victories life sends your way!
Patricia

Etsy Workshop Tonight!!!

A hint of what's to come.........
Featured here is a Day of the Dead Box I'll list tonight during an etsy workshop Jon and I are giving. Tonights workshop will be held at the Stutz Art Association in Indianapolis. We began doing these etsy workshops in our hometown of Bloomington IN. The first one was held at the John Waldron Art Center in January. The Waldron loved our idea of presenting this information. Our first workshop was a 90 minute presentation to 75 people as part of their "Artists After Hours" workshops. It was a hit! During this presentation we showed the finer points of getting established on etsy as a seller as well as the listing procedure by listing one of my boxes 'live'. We helped artists navigate the site and showed them some of the intricacies of presenting their work in this medium. We ended with a question and answer period and a critique of current sellers' shops. This hands-on help seems to prove beneficial to those coming to etsy for the first time as well as sellers currently familiar with the process.

We've since given two additional workshops. One was the night before the Garage Sale Art Fair in Kalamazoo, MI and the next one was in Fort Wayne, IN. Both were well-attended. Even though Jon and I are not affiliated with etsy, we both have a keen knowledge of what it takes to get your work on the site and get it seen. The tricks of the trade if you will. We touch on the importance of outside marketing by way of blogs or ads and utilizing etsy as a portal for on line commerce to a global market.
Jon and I are a good team! Jon builds and prepares the boxes and I design what goes on them. He photographs them and sizes the images and uploads them to my computer. I write the copy and list them. It's a stream-lined workflow that works for us. Each of us utilizing our strengths best.

By doing these workshops, I think I've lost some of my fear of public speaking. The mere thought of public speaking used to terrify me. Friends laugh when I remind them I'm shy. They say, "yeah, right". I am. This seems to have helped. Maybe it's because I feel so comfortable talking about this subject. Etsy is fun and easy to use. It's helped me connect with collectors of my work I would have never met otherwise.

This box is one of my more artsy Day of the Dead Boxes. If you return to my etsy site later tonight you will see it posted there. If you fall in lust with it and feel the need to buy it, hang tight! It will be up around 6-6:30 tonight!!
How's that for a tease?

See you later!
Pat

"Artists On the Road Box"

I dedicate this 'Artists on the Road Box' to my fellow artists who criss-cross this grand country deriving a living from what we make. It takes so much more than our hands. It takes our minds, our intuition, our passion, our sense of self. This way of carving out an income has so much more to do than sell what we make.
It has to do with what we love to do, what we have the passion to do and what fuels us to do what we do. We don't sell 'stuff'. We sell pieces of our soul and along the way, I do believe, we inspire a gentler few we encounter to find their passion.

We are dreamers, makers, creators, designers and innovators. We are people living out loud spreading a 'can do' message that it's okay to be different. Artists usually are. We are the shy kids who sat in the back of class. The ones with the weird socks. The kids that ate glue, the kids that worried about how different they were. The kids that weren't the cheerleaders or the jock.
We were the kids who hung out in the art room after lunch because it felt safe and comfortable. We were the kids not picked first on the play ground.
The ones busy looking at cloud formations.

~I think that's who we were.

The kid who was mesmerized by the intricacy of the birds nest on the ground and worried about the birds whose home was empty. The kid who listened carefully to the music in their heads because it contained the melody of the painting that was being orchestrated in their mind. We were and still are the kids who feared and embraced change all in one fell swoop as scary and exciting all mixed into one.

~We were those kids.

So to my fellow artists, I share with you my 'Artists On the Road Box'.
This handmade cherry box measures 8" wide x 3 3/4" deep x 7" high. It has jadite painted feet and opens by way of a lift off lid with the words 'artist' on one side and 'vision' on the other. Stamped with memories of a bye-gone era but reminiscent of todays traveler. The freedom of the open road before you, the dashboard your desk. So many fun stamps on this box will take the viewer down memory lane and out onto Route 66 and beyond. The road awaits and the trip begins!

May your travels be safe, your baggage in life - light and your dreams continuing to come true!
This is who we are and what we do!

Patricia

On etsy

$50.00

Art Big Box

★´¨)
¸,•´¸.•¤´¨} ¸.•*¨)
(¸.*´ (¸.*`¤~ Here is my Art Big Box. This art box is handmade by my husband Jon. Made of maple, it measures 6" wide and 6" deep and 11" tall. Deduct 1" on the width and depth for inner measurements as this allows for the thickness of the walls. An artsy box with bright red feet and purple eyelash trim. The top opens by way of a wooden lift off lid with red ball handle and purple trim. Inside, the bottom is lined with sultry black velvet. The inside rim is painted red.
A box this size could be used for many purposes even as a funeral urn to hold our beloved in a most artful way. This is my largest box so far and it really shows well where it's placed in your home or studio! The large surface area allows for lots of imagery and was a blast to do!
*Remember that you can click on any of my images on my blog and they will open into a larger window. This will help you to see the details and fall in love with them easier!!!

Come by my etsy shop (link below) and gift it a heart if you like it!~
If you like me, give me a heart too!~
If you're way in love with this box, simply add it to your cart and it becomes YOURS!

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

On my stsy site:

$110.00

Patricia

BEAD Artists of the Week

Wow....my friend Cappi told me today that Jon and I were named Artists of the Week by The Bloomington Entertainment and Arts District! How fun!


BEAD Artists o’ the Week: Pat & Jon Hecker. Their “Tattoo Dreams” line of boxes and holiday ornaments is available at the Holiday Art Mart at the John Waldron Arts Center through the end of December, this weekend at the 50th annual Unitarian Universalist Art Fair and on www.etsy.com.


Patricia

"Reflecting You"...an etsy Commission

Every now and then, an artist gets a really wonderful and unique commission. One that will test your skills of technique as well as your skills to listen. To interpret what the collector desires and create something better than what they'd hoped for.
I just completed one of those projects!
I began selling my relatively new body of work, TattooDreams, on etsy.com last December. Shortly after doing so, I met a wonderful Canadian admirer of my work. Her enthusiasm motivated me! She saw things in my work I didn't see. Sometimes when you're that close to your own work, you overlook the nuances others can appreciate.
I was asked by this wonderful woman if I would be willing to create a mirror to mark her special birthday.
I loved this challenge and happily accepted the commission!
We decided on a size and price. After that, discussion revoloved around what to have on this mirror frame.
Children and family names, elements to mark significant events and places in her life, people who impacted her world and the goodness her life reflects all became my muse.

This came together with the 'canvas' being a beautiful maple wood mirror my husband Jon built. Jon has a keen sense of tasteful line to his work and his details and design sense are fabulous!
The size of this is 20" wide and 28" tall with an ebonized black tapered shelf below the mirror.
The smooth finish was achieved using a Danish oil that fragranced our studio while being applied.

So many things came together in such a magnificent way to accomplish this piece and UPS did their part delivering it right on time to Calgary!
I have a happy collector and Jon and I are really satisfied with what we made. A huge thanks for having the passion to trust me with this commission!
It's people like you who let people like me hone their craft, enjoy every workday and live the life I do.
For this and so many other things in this world I am blessed and greatful!

For my blog viewers, of which there seems to be a growing base from the number who subscribe to my blog, I share with you this mirror we called "Reflecting You".

I look forward to creating more pieces like this as well as small tables that can be personized.

Namastè,
༺♥༻
Patricia

Please see the rest of my TattooDreams work on etsy.com
My 3- dimensional work on HeckerDesign.com

An Image Says it All!

For 24 years we have done outdoor juried art shows. We have utilized different ways of photgraphing our mixed media body of work. With the work being dimensional it has some parameters that call for shadow to be seen but not be too strongly side-lit that it distorts the art. It's tricky at best and becomes an expensive learning curve.
The quality of the images and their content is imperative since show juries view the work for less than 30 seconds. This is what a 35.00 jury fees 'buys'. An impression. It is that impression that either gets me into a show or not.
Is it cut-throat?
Oh yes!
Is it moreso in recent years?........You bet!
Competition at shows is tighter than ever.
It's this high level of competition that keeps me making what I feel to be better work and jury images and Jon trying to find better ways to capture them.
Todays blog shows a piece I sold at Boston Mills. It's called 'Eclipse'. He shot this in my booth with hard side lights in the booth. Not ideal controlled lighting by any means. This is not jury quality, but it does inspire us to shoot the work on an angle as opposed to straight on as we had been doing.
Here's to the competitive spirit that keeps us working towards the best possible!
★
Pat
Please see more of my work on my website:
http://www.heckerdesign.com

★ Barack-A-Mole Guacamole ★

Here at our home on Purple Hill, Jon and love to cook. We eat out plenty when we're on the road intermittently half the year. When we're home, we indulge in our favorite recipes! Having traveled to the southwest for many years, and loving every minute of it, we have tried some fo the best Mexican food there is. Gabriels in Santa Fe will happily make a killer batch of guacamole tableside with input from the customer and make it to your taste. A visual and culinary treat.

Lately we have been enjoying my sweet husband's gorgeous guacamole. He has perfected this and is willing to share his recipe with you out there in blogland. His guacamole has brought a smile to many a face as they dined here at our home. With a few shots of tequila, we count our blessings and days till we have a new president. In his honor, we have patriotically dubbed this Mexican concoction Barack-A-Mole!

Pictured above is the guacamole king, my husband, Jon!

★Barack-A-Mole★
2 or 3 medium size ripe avocados
1 large clove of garlic
1/2 c red onion
1 roma tomato
1/2 lime
1/4 c fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. sour cream
1 tsp. coarse salt

Prepare the ingredients:
Finely chop the garlic
Slice onion into thin slices and chop into pieces.
Slice tomato in half, remove inside flesh and seeds. Then cut outer layer into strips and chop into small pieces.
Rinse a small bundle of cilantro thoroughly, dry with a towel and chop into fine pieces.
Once all of the above is prepared, cut each avocado in half and remove pit. Scoop with spoon and place into bowl.

Begin by mashing the avocados thoroughly. Next, incorporate the onion, garlic, cilantro and tomatoes. Add the sour cream to bring consistency to a creamy suspension. Squeeze the juice of half a lime and mix thoroughly. This will bring it to the final texture. Cover the mix with plastic wrap and chill for several hours. When ready, salt to taste, adding roughly 1 teaspoon. Mix thoroughly.

Tips for the best results: Pick avocados that are firm and not mushy. A slight resistance means it is ready. If it is very firm, place into a brown paper bag and store at room temperature for 2-3 days until soft enough for preparation.

Some recommended chips:
El Milagro Mexican kitchen style chips or Lundberg's sea salt flavored Rice chips.

Enjoy with your favorite tequila and Mexican dish.
Olé!


Imbibe accordingly until November 4th and here's to Barack!
★
Pat & Jon