The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of

Egmont Surprise Notecards (6) - $15.00
Accessible only by boat, Egmont Key Lighthouse sits on Tampa Bay in Florida. Lighthouses are a vanishing breed.
4 1/4" x 5 1/2" on white card stock, blank inside, offered together with white envelopes size A2. There is a white 5/8" border around the image.

Dream on is aptly named, a tropical paradise of rich watercolor paintings with an impressionistic style and a somewhat surrealist twist. My very favorite of these paintings is the one above. It reminds me of when I used to go to Woods Hole Massachusetts during the summer as a child and see the sandy beaches and old fashioned lighthouses, their foghorns sounding in the distance. The pink flower in the foreground is a nice touch, and her use of color and texture is warm and inviting, capturing the essence of the location in a way which makes you feel like you’re there.

The artist, Mary Hamilton, a former business computer programmer and owner of a word processing and resume writing business first painted in oils, but after she tried watercolor, she much preferred it and acrylics and felt it challenged her in a way that oils never did.

Mary’s paintings are filled with images from Florida where she lives most of the year; the remaining months of which she lives in the mountains of Colorado.

I love Snowy Egrets. She captures the grace of these beautifully.

Egret With Attitude Note Cards (6) - $15.00
This particular group of birds lived in the Everglades.
4 1/4" x 5 1/2" on white card stock, blank inside, offered together with white envelopes size A2. There is a white 5/8" border around the image.

This painting below, mostly done in shades of orange and a mossy green has a beautiful glow to it, and the reflection of the sailboat in the water is rendered very well. I also love how she has made the sky transition into the horizon line, making the painting dreamy, yet still believeable. Also, notice the palm tree at the upper left of the sailboat with its leaves backlit by the setting sun!

Florida Visions Note Cards (6) - $15.00
Florida Visions, a set of six different notecards which are reproductions of my original watercolor paintings. There will be one of each card. Offered together in this set are birds, memories from beaches and the Everglades.

Mary’s process is very interesting in that she takes hundreds of photos and then compiles images from several within the same picture, for the fun ones her subject matter comes entirely from her imagination, and in others she uses live scenes to paint from.

She most enjoys painting the ones that come out of her imagination and finds that they paint themselves, but dislikes painting architectural things.“My paintings are not symbolic as a rule” she says, “but I have painted a few which are. I am a Christian, and know that everything I am and everything I do is because the Lord provided it to me and has chosen for it to be.”A few galleries, restaurants, and office buildings display her work, and she also enters art shows. Her most successful venue was a hotel where she had a few paintings. Located by the front door everything sold.

“As I continue to show, the prices tend to go up slowly on the more serious work. Artists struggle to find what is satisfying for them to paint vs. what sells. What sells much of the time, especially locally, is what is a deal for the buyer. Hence: starving artists. I read somewhere that only 10 percent of people buy original art. That's a really small market to split with many, many other competent artists, so my biggest successes would be my most recent sales at annual art shows that have been in existence for years and years, where I show and sell my best pieces.”

Mary’s most expensive piece ever sold was a watercolor, floral painting with deep red, gold and white poppies with deep shadows and lots of contrast.

Speaking about an artist she particularly admires, Mary becomes nostalgic. “I once took a workshop with Bridget Austin (from Wisconsin) who is an absolute master of negative painting (painting technique, not bad painting) that helped me sooooo much. I love her work, and if mine has been influenced by hers, then I'm honored. Negative painting refers to painting around an object instead of painting the object. For example if I were going to paint a tree on white paper, I would paint all around the tree with a light color (green maybe). What would remain would be a white tree. This can be done in multiple layers in a painting. The next layer I would paint around my white tree and a new tree with a darker color (perhaps brown). Then I would have a white tree and a light green tree surrounded by brown. Etc.”

Here her use of light and shadow is wonderful as well as her rendering of the clouds. Clouds are not easy to paint and she has managed to illustrate that type of lighting one finds sometimes at the beach which is somewhat ominous from one direction and at the same time, sun-drenched.

Gulf Shores note cards - $15.00
a reproduction of artists’ original watercolor painting with snow white sand dunes with sea oats gently blowing overlook the Gulf that is that special color. 6 cards on white cardstock and the folded size is 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" with a 5/8" white border around the image. White envelopes size A2 are provided for each card.

Note: The artist is offering an Etsy special for the holidays. Her greeting card packs will be marked down to $10.00 (from $15.00).


Here Kitty Kitty note cards - $15.00
“There is a shop in Holmes Beach, Florida, next to the Artists Guild Gallery, where there are birds in large cages out on the sidewalk in nice weather. Passersby talk to the birds. One of them says, "Here Kitty, Kitty" and also "Meow."

Mary's long-term goals are to be represented in one of the galleries on Canyon Road in Santa Fe, NM, and to be featured in Artist's Magazine.

To purchase these wonderful works of art as originals or prints, go to:
http://DreamON.etsy.com
To learn more about the artist, read her blog;
http://DreamsAboutArt.blogspot.com

It's Beginning To Look Alot Like Christmas

Ornament Gift Tags - $3.00
Set of 20; 10 green and 10 blue. Each textured tag measures 4"x2" with a chocolate brown polka dot ribbon

Vanessa Kimball is a graphic designer for a company called Ekcetera Productions. She has a new brick and mortar store by the same name in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota which sells a lot of the same types of stationary products as she carries in her Etsy online store. Her Etsy store carries cards, gift tags and even a few banners that can be customized.

These cards have an impressionistic style that lends itself well to Winter themes. Its minimalism with the pines only on one side and the rest of the card white expresses the feeling of cold temperatures and barren snow-covered landscape, using negative space to illustrate the harsh yet beautiful climate.

O Tannenbaum – $6.00
Set of 4, blank holiday cards with a German feel to it. Cards measure to 5.5"x4". The set comes with 4 winter blue envelopes. Larger quantities can be ordered.

These simple greeting cards are nice for mailing or to use on gifts.

All Is Calm - $6.00
4 blank holiday/winter cards with a bird resting on a branch. Cards measure to 5.5"x4". The set comes with 4 chocolate brown envelopes. Larger quantities can be ordered.

If you're having a Christmas/Holiday party you will be needing some nice invitations to mail out. These have all the sections laid out on the back for you to fill in your infornation

Tis the Season 10 Party Invites - $15.00
This item is a two-sided flat card with rounded corners.
Measures at 5.5"x4. The Funky Green invites are illustrated with party decor. 10 winter blue envelopes compliment the green card stock. Larger quantities can be ordered.

To order your gift cards, invitations, and/or holiday tags go to:
http://vanessakimball.etsy.com

If you live in (or will be visiting in) her local area, drop by her store in-person and see what she’s got:

Ekcetera
5719 Blaine Ave.
Inver Grove Heights, MN

To read up more on the artist, read her blog:
http://vanessakimball.blogspot.com

Listening To A Higher Calling

Bobo Batik Mini Mew Mew Kitty Cat Folk Art - $15.00
100% cotton batik fabric stuffed with polyester fiber fill over a wire leg armature.

MaryAnn Anderson of Backwoodscreations, a former Medicaid policy writer for the state of Maine's Department of Health and Human Services creates absolutely gorgeous animal figures made from fabric and stuffing sculpted, and shaped around an armature!

What struck me immediately about her work was just how well she is able to capture the animal’s expression, (especially in her cats), and I was blown away by how low her prices are for the product she offers. With items easily worth $150 apiece, the artist seems somewhat shy when asked about her most expensive sale, particularly humble about her sculptures.

“Most of my work is moderately priced because I want it to be accessible to a wide range of people. I have had several paintings that have been commissioned and sold for decent prices by an unknown artist (me). I sold a couple of commissioned paintings for $200-$250. It was work very different than what I sell on Etsy. More traditional portraiture (corgis) done in acrylics on canvas.”

This downplaying of her profitability of these pieces could very likely be because she feels, as many artists do; that the work chooses her rather than the other way around, although these may be where her biggest potential lies in terms of financial viability.

Fergus Calico Cat Feral Feline Series Folk Art Sculpture EFA - $35.00
100% cotton clothe stuffed with polyester fiberfill over a wire armature Fergus is hand-painted. As a member of EFA (Etsy for animals) I will donate 10% to the selected charity of the month that this cat is adopted in.

“I currently do some pickup consulting work here and there but most of my money comes from making and selling the product of my creativity. The fabric animal sculptures are what have given me a precarious toe hold into the possibility of making a decent livelihood out of doing what thrills me. But I also create work that has meaning to me in many different forms. I think of it as listening to the everyday sacred. I am a steward of this earth. It is up to me to protect it, love it and take care of it. I make the animals that talk to me. Some talk more than others. The materials used sometimes just lend themselves to being what they are. The basic shapes are a jumping off point.”

When asked how she captures the cats' expressions so realistically, she answers, “Honestly I don't know.” Notice the cat at the top which seems to be staring longingly at you to take him home. Not only expressions are captured, but if you notice some of the other cats you'll see that body language is also expressed quite realistically! Perhaps work like this is divinely guided. It has often been theorized that artists enter a type of meditative state while working which gives them (us) an exceptional receptiveness on a metaphysical level. I know what she means when she says these animals “talk” to her. This is an experience of being that seems etched upon the “collective unconscious” for artists since the beginning of time, unique in the form in which it comes, yet Universal.

How did she learn to make these sculptures? By learning the basics, and then with lots of experimentation.

“No one taught me directly, “here, this is how you do it”. They are an accumulation of skills gathered over the years. Knowing how to sew and what a dart does as well as how to be forgiving to oneself during the process is important. Working with fabric and embellishment was not a far stretch from what I learned as a child from my mother. Many of the hand skills that I use today I learned from her. She was a lot more traditional in their usage than I am, but she gave me a firm foundation in "just do it". Mastery comes with doing. So I keep doing to get that mastery of my medium and techniques; always ongoing and never will stop.”

Little Bird Big Heart Decorative freestanding Fabric Sculpture EFA Charity - $14.00
Made out of a red, pink and green floral print cotton fabric with contrasting wings. Stands 4 inches tall. 10% from the sale of this item goes to the monthly EFA (Etsy for Animals) charity.

About a year ago after having worked in the Medicaid system for some time, she decided life was too short to wait any longer to start living her dream. The answer for her was not only to change what she was doing for a living, but to change her whole sense of priorities, and to re-evaluate what was really important in her life underneath all the window-dressing.

“I needed to use my creative energies or perish. I also had a dear friend get diagnosed with cancer and live six more months. He had always said "I will do it when I retire." That was a really big wake up call for me. So I quit (the) security and ran open-armed into the future. I needed to use those skills I had put myself through college 25 years ago to get. I had gotten a degree in painting from Maine College of Art after deciding RISD was too expensive. I had been denying my creative needs for years and it was time to STOP!

When I was working a “socially acceptable” job and was making decent money with benefits and all the trappings that went along with it I was miserable for the most part and didn't really grok to (realize/acknowledge) that fact. When I made the decision to quit that, a sense of peace came over me. I knew I was making the right decision. I figured I would try it until my bank account got to a certain figure. That was over a year ago and the figure hasn't been hit. Part of the reason for that is my life has become much, much simpler in needs and desires. I don't have to buy things to work (clothes, shoes, lunches), nor am I on the road commuting two hours a day. The less "things" I have or buy the happier I am, and the more I am able to stop and appreciate what I do have and the natural beauty in the environment around me. When I worked (in a traditional job), buying things is what I did to make me happy. Now I don't do that because I am happy with how I am living and what I am doing.”

Benny Feral Feline Folkart Fabric Sculpture Batik Striping - $33.00
Benny measures roughly 9" tall by 9 inches long. He is made in a smoke free environment out of 100% cotton fabric stuffed with polyester fiberfill and padded wire.

MaryAnn currently sells her work at Spiralworks Artisans Gallery (soon to be known as River Roads Artisans Gallery) in Skowhegan Maine. She also does custom work through her own website and her Etsy store. The artist is working on getting together her portfolio to go show her work to other brick and mortar stores. “It is hard to sell oneself I think. But if I want to stay doing this I have to invest that time in myself.”She has had the most success locally through word-of-mouth.

“I have learned tons on Etsy from people on the forums, usually people much younger then myself” says MaryAnn. “I have picked up tips on how to use the internet to help get exposure for my work. I knew I wanted to be successful but there is also a realistic side to me so I am just finishing up a class on writing a business plan. That has been very helpful in looking at short and long-term goals, pricing, recordkeeping etc. It was free and reinforced some of the things I already knew and is also giving me an opportunity to network with other creative women in central Maine as well as learning good business practices. Even mistakes are valuable tools. I can kick myself for making bad choices but in the end they work to my advantage because I learn from them. Plus I have found some helpful blogs such as Luann Udell’s blog http://luannudell.wordpress.com/ . She has great business tips for many things.”

The artist reflects on what her most important take-home message might be. “My best lesson, I don't know who taught me; maybe it was learned over time, is that I can't and won't be everything to everybody. Some people absolutely do not like my work. I on the other hand don't like everybody’s either. But I have to have respect for it, their process and their voice. Hopefully they will have the same for mine.”

Who could possibly not like this regal kitty?!

Chloe Feral Feline Folk Art Fabric Cat Sculpture - $28.00
A midsized cat standing at approximately 8 inches tall and 12 inches long. 100% cotton fabric stuffed with polyester fiberfill and a polyester covered armature wire

Books that have been particularly helpful to MaryAnn that she can recommend are The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, and she is currently reading Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.

“I have just started that but it looks like it will help with distancing myself from my inner and outer critics. There is also a book similar to the Artist's Way which looks like it might be good to work through and that is Fearless Creating by Eric Maisel. I have a list! and not enough hours in the days.”

As far as new techniques she would like to tackle, MaryAnn is interested in learning Lampwork someday.

Her plans for selling to holiday shoppers are to continue to keep a wide range of price points, package nicely, and ship promptly. “I also stick in a thank you card to everyone who buys” says MaryAnn, “and for those people who are frequent buyers I slip in a little extra perk here and there.

Future work, like the birds, will be more embellished, I think. These ones currently are about shape and line. Now I need to “ice the cake” so to speak.”

When asked what her long-term goals are for her business, MaryAnn had this to say. “To make my living from my work and have it speak to those around me, well also those in the rest of the world too.”

I can hardly wait to see what she does with dogs!

For more of these lovely creations or to place a custom order, go to:
http://backwoodscreations.etsy.com
and
www.backwoodscreations.net

To learn more about the artist and activities she’s involved in, read her blog: http://backwoodscreations.blogspot.com