Handmade

Next time you need a card for something, why not make one yourself? It's so much more personal. Or buy a handmade card from someone who made it. That is personal, too. And you are supporting someone who is making something with thier own little hands. Bypass the corporate mindset that says we have to get everything store bought. Why not?

There are a lot of great cards over at Etsy or Dawanda. This card pictured here is made by yours truly. It is from my original painting, "Time Space Geometry". I printed it myself and mounted it upon recycled paper. I think it looks a bit handsome.

Creating and Buying Handmade

In order to make our lives more meaningful we can create handmade arts and crafts. That's where our lives get more real. I want to sluff off the corporate world and the made in China syndrome in our lives. To buy handmade is to is to buy something of real value. Etsy is a great place to buy all things handmade.

Now if you need any advice, Dear, please leave a message here. I will answer all posts. Come on, I know something is bothering you and I can make it all better.

The Diverse Works of Kathy Crabbe

She is an artist, a poet, a cartoonist, a printmaker, a psychic, a publisher and works in several mediums. I had a lively and gentle chat with Kathy. She put me at ease, entertained me and intrigued me. The time flew! I met Kathy on the Etsy forums. Etsy is a popular online marketplace for all things handmade. Kathy has had her Maude Shop there for three months. She also has 2 other shops on Etsy with the links below.
Childlike, yet sophisticated - is how I would describe Kathy Crabbe’s work. She discovered that by drawing with her left hand, her non-dominant hand, that her work took on some added dimensions. I asked her if she thought that it tapped more into her subconscious that way. She replied, “Yes, accessing the right side of the brain and also more of an Asian aesthetic.” And so the “Lefties” were born. As Kathy describes in her Maude Shop: “In the winter of 2001 I discovered my non dominant left hand had something to say so I listened! Over the next 5 years I discovered a whole bunch of new friends. They just appeared on my doorstep, ALL 500 OF THEM (!!!)” The Lefties come in the forms of greeting cards, small prints and laminated silk earrings in the Maude Shop. The lefties were made into a deck of cards when she was doing psychic readings.
Her Maude Shop on Etsy is named for independent, feisty and fun troublemakers like Maude, 79 year old star of the 1970's movie "Harold & Maude." Kathy’s lefties certainly deliver. Here is what some of her customers have to say:

"The world needs more of your kind of clever silliness" - Linda B.

"I've never seen anything like it...I laughed out loud" - Michael P.

"I think I know all these people" - Susan R."zen-like" - Mary F.

To see Kathy’s fun and feisty cards go to The Maude Shop on Etsy: And there are laminated silk earrings that Kathy told me light shines through them…
http://www.themaudeshop.etsy.com/

Did I mention her work is diverse? Kathy also has silk paintings at her other shop:
http://www.luludesign.etsy.com/

She has a press with prints for sale!
http://www.ookpikpress.etsy.com/

Kathy Crabbe’s blog:
http://www.themaudeblog.blogspot.com/
Follow along with The 123 Day Big, Hairy, Scary, Dream Vision Challenge begun 06/24/08

Kathy V. Crabbe resides in Temecula, California, with her pet dog and pet husband.

Let Us Create:

Here are images of beautiful handmade creations by an American artist, Ravyncrow.

Looking at them makes my spirit sing.

The titles are: Early Spring Morning and Blue Bayou - Fling Your Bling.

Thank you, Ravyncrow for creating something unique and adding joy and beauty to the world!

***

So much of of our (crappy) lives are thrown at us, or sold to us by corporations - the government. Let us create our own lives with our own meaning. We need to create our own culture instead of having it crammed down our throats without our scrutiny. Let's buy from American craftspeople and artists! Buy American!

It is very unpopular nowadays to complain. Whining and complaining is a fine art. It takes reflection- and remember: An unexamined life is not worth living. There is nothing wrong with having compassion for one's self! Please participate in my whiner's poll. And if you would like to let it out, please post under comments here! I want to hear from you, Dear, and I can give advice if you want. I will answer all posts!

***

Below is an interview with Ravyncrow and more photos of her work.