Why Would You Buy This?

Why would you buy this from me? I can tell you all kinds of facts about how it was made, who made it, the size, the color - buy why would you buy this? Why would you spend $55.00 for a box? $800.00 for a painting?

Financial/practical folks would say "Do you want it or do you need it?"
Of course you don't need it.
You buy art because you want it.

Will it improve your life? Debatable.
If smiling when you see this object counts, then 'yes'.
If feeling that you have helped contribute to the life of an independent artist to continue living their creative life makes you feel good, then 'yes'.
If surrounding oneself with unusual one of a kind treasures makes you feel
like you're creating a personalized pod to live in, then 'yes'.
If by owning this, you vicariously are living with a piece of this artists spirit in your home or office - then 'yes'.
Pretty compelling reasons I would have to say. Then again, I'm the artist who wants you to buy my work!

So - if this is the case.....think about these things the next time you hesitate. The next time you think,"should I buy that beautiful work of art that seems to be tugging at my soul".......just say 'yes'.

There is no right or wrong in buying art.
Buy what you love.
Buy what ignites your spirit.
Buy what makes you feel whole.
Buy what makes you miss a breath.
In becoming attuned to your inner voice, you come to count on it's intuitive input
when you need the push to say 'yes'!

As 2011 unfolds, make it point to buy at least ONE handmade piece of art each month.
At the end of the year, your collection will have grown,
your sense of collecting strengthened -
your passion expanded.
You will have grown too!
You may find yourself smiling more.
You may find yourself showing others your collection - having people into your home.
These are some of the wonderful aspects of art.
It is beauty and grace all wrapped in one!
--this is art!

Happy Collecting!

If you need any ideas - I ship for FREE on my etsy site!

Patricia

Art Up Close

Some things look even better up close! This may be one of them. It's a close up of my Artists Urn Vessel. Posted to my etsy site today. These large vessels are sold as art pieces but can easily be used to stow the ashes of deceased loved ones or pets. I sold one this week for just that purpose. It gives me an honor you wouldn't believe to know that someone is going to use a vessel my husband and I created for this type of purpose.

I hope you'll take a few minutes to peruse the contents of the recent work I have on my etsy site. It's my 'storefront' for you.
If you see something intriguing, something that causes you to pause, perhaps it is that piece calling your name. Buy it!
I give you permission to do so!!
This is the way the best collectables are acquired! A collection begins with a desire to exhibit passion. It takes passion to open the mind and heart to buy art. To buy something not mass produced - but handmade and executed with the years of dedication, experience and fine tuning it takes to become a fine artist or craftswoman.

It takes love to make it. It takes love to buy it.

It takes the willingness to be aware of these most sensitive characteristics within ourselves to be open to the possibilities.
Life and art are one in the same-letting ourselves be open to the possibilities.
When passion becomes awakened in an individual, they have caught the 'bug' -- the 'high' if you will, of collecting art.
When someone finds something that tugs at their soul---such is the way with buying art.

My job is to create.
Your job is to 'see'.

Together I support your need to have art-
and you help support my life.
I give up something of value to me, my art-
and in turn you give up something of value to in exchange- your money.

This is one of the most primordial of transactions that continues, despite the madness of the world.
It ignites the fire, which for an artist, burns relentlessly.
For the collector-is all consuming.

You, the collector, is no different than me.
Our passion is ART. In this we become one.

Art brings people together much like music.
It lets us breathe and become the symphony of our soul.
It helps us heal.
It keeps us finding the good in every moment-despite life's realities.
It helps us become the best human beings we can be.
It lets us be us.
There is nothing more I need in this world than to be an artist and to be loved.

Buy art-find you passion!!


Patricia

Friendships Threads

Jon and I have done juried art fairs for 24 years.
In this time we've made some wonderful friendships.
Sometimes we see friends after a long hiatus,
sometimes the next weekend.
The passage of time seems inconsequential to the strength of the friendship.
This is due to several facets---one being
we share some a common thread.

A thread that we've seen become strong over time,
tested by endurance,
made versatile by patience,
softened by rain,
weathered by sun
tattered a bit by age
and colored by our similarities.

Threads are small pieces of a whole. Interwoven.
Each essential to one another. Each holding the other in place taking turns as to who is up and who is down.

The whole is the fabric-
all of us....doing what we've become passionate doing.
Doing what we love.

This thread and this fabric
binds us over the years to
become for one another
-a canopy of protection,
-a hammock of life..
-a rope to hold on to.

I celebrate all of my friends--
however and whenever we met.
I treasure all of you!
Our travels and experiences have
given us the foundation to paint a life of memories.
A canvas interwoven with all these elements in a world
of uncertainty.......we count on one another!

This weeeknd like most others-
I saw you.
Saw you weathering the horrible heat,
hugging over a victory,
applauding award winners,
laughing,
trying our best to sell our work....
And again we painted a canvas........rich in diversity, texture
and added for ourselves
yet another memory in the threads we weave.

Patricia

★ Living Ones Dream ★

There's a certain stillness that settles within when you know, as a person, you are doing what you are destined to do.
What God, in his wisdom, helped you to find, hoped you would do.
I'm doing this.
I feel certain.
I was born to be an artist and I know, regardless of the difficulties life hands me, I am doing what I was meant to do.
There is peace in this knowing.
I've done other things in my life, some rather well, none however, with this degree of passion or zeal.
In this knowing lies the realization I no longer have to keep searching.
I need only to keep exploring.
There is a huge difference between the two.

Tonight I'm sharing with you another recent commission obtained through etsy.com.
This on-line global marketplace has introduced me to an entirely new set of collectors
who enjoy my TattooDreams work.
This celebration of handmade stirs in me the joy I get from using the talents I have
and creating for wonderful people, heartfelt handmade work.
It's made with joy, given with joy and expressed here, with joy!

Namaste,
♥
Patricia

Permission to Commission!

This box was completed and mailed to it's new owner. It's going to live in Florida! A commission through etsy.com.
I love doing custom work, so if you have any ideas that need a box to wrap around them, let me know!
These boxes are handmade with a lot of love and help support 2 artists who make their living being artists!

Art feeds the soul!
It feeds yours when you buy something handmade
and it feeds mine as the one who has made the art.
Art is one of the last things made in America!
Seriously.
As a nation, we import just about everything.
That needs to change!
This is your oppurtunity to make a shift in your life.
If you seldom buy handmade things - begin.
If you already do - continue.
The economy needs to move back into gear and this paradigm shift begins slowly.
The important thing is that it begins.
A shift in focus, in priorites, in passion.

I believe that is what art is all about!
P a s s i o n .
It takes passion to create it.
Passion to buy it.
Passion to use it and appreciate it.
Without passion..........we are shells of human beings.

Without passion, we lose direction and miss the subtle taste of colors of a sunset.
The hidden notes of gardenia or jasmine in the wind.
The gentle touch of a ladybug landing on our arm.
The sound of spring rain splattering across the last crunchy leaves of winter.

We miss more.
We miss the deliciousness of life.

So with passion and zest..........buy something handmade!
This diligent effort keeps viable the life of artists and the culture of art
this country so daringly needs.
Art is the lifeblood of what is good and important.
It's not a spreadsheet or a bottom line.
It's THE lifeline that connects us to who we are.
~The rain that feeds our souls.
~The passion that lets us become our best selves.

Wishing peace this quiet afternoon.

Patricia

☀ Time ★

I blog this evening about time. It's such an abstract thing but what we do with it is a measure of progress. Its passage an earmark.
Two of my blogging friends experienced varying issues with time this week. One was getting ready for her biggest show of the year. For that task, there never seems to be enough time. Time to create, pack, feel prepared for a big show. It can be overwhelming even when things go as planned. When they don't, the perception and loss of time seems even more critical.
When help was offered, it freed her up to think more clearly. She said that was a gift. I can relate to that. Sometimes that freeing up is the breath we need, like punctuation in a sentence. Be it a comma or an exclamation point!

Another blogging friend is utilizing her time to reinvent her craft. As an artist, this experimental time is a gift we don't give ourselves often enough. To walk into your studio and pick up new or different tools and bring something new to life is the birthing of the creative force alive and well.
Nothing new may materialize, but it is the enigma of the effort that is the energy of an artist.
Without this growth, as creatives, we wither.
We need to revitalize our minds and spirits and in our studio the soil is ripe to do so.
We have tools and materials and a familiarity with the process and all that is needed is desire.
Without desire, there is no passion.
It's passion that fuels us.
Without passion, we just make 'stuff'.
It's passion that opens our minds to possibilities
and passion that engages our heart and our hands and lets
the concept turn into reality.

So here's to the passion and passage of time!
♥
Have a wonderful evening,
Pat

◀ A Ten Year Project Completed ▶

Wow! After 10+ years and well over 2200 wooden objects painted and drilled into beads, my bead project is complete!!! I hung it this weekend on a salvaged pole that I painted purple. The wooden rings were gifted to me from a friend to use how I saw fit. This beaded curtain hangs between our dining room and kitchen.
The painting of these beads began when Jon and I rented the Old Opera House in Gosport, IN. My painting area was a few too many steps away from the closest sink. In order to use up small dabs of paint, I began applying them to these odd wooden parts. Soon more intense detail was added to each bead with most being embellished with 6-10 colors per bead, often airbrushing and detailing with pencil tips. I got into it and the time spent illuminating these beads became a cathraric episode I looked forward to every day.
A meditation of sorts.
There are 22 strands hanging. Each one is about 84" long and comprised of a minimum of 120 beads.
For those who say I have no patience, I will kindly refer them to this project......
It became a metaphor for time used and paint saved!
It became a testament to patience!
Enjoy!
♻
Patricia