"I can't imagine having a hobby." said Yolo. " I can't either." said Kate. "Everything I do I want to be essential." Alice Walker in Now Is the Time to Open Your Heart
"Hobby" is defined as something a person does for pleasure, not as his main business. It's an interesting word to consider. On the one hand, to do something that you love, that gives you such delight that you'd do it whether or not you got paid, is an engagement that is to be envied! How lucky we are to find such a pursuit! And yet, it is sometimes used as an epithet; at the very least it makes the person whose work has been described as a hobby feel defensive. We want to put space between our passion and that label.
I remember being at a women's event one evening where we were asked to introduce ourselves by telling one thing that we loved to do. It was before I'd discovered painting for myself and I think I lamely said that I loved to read. Further down the table another woman described some activity that she was involved in - some kind of creating. She said that time stopped for her; she lost track altogether. She forgot to eat. That caught my attention. I never forgot to eat! I'd never gotten so engrossed in what I was doing that I didn't miss food. I might not be able to stop what I was doing but it wasn't that I forgot about it, that my hunger didn't make itself very apparent.
On occasion, I now know what she was talking about. I can become totally absorbed in my work on a painting. Not always, but sometimes.
And yet, I fall into the definition of having a hobby. I do not earn my living with my painting. I couldn't even if I tried; I'm not at that level of accomplishment. But I take my work seriously. It is part of myself that I share with others, that sometimes speaks to others. It is totally essential to being who I am at this point in time. In that sense, it is my business.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Friday, September 28, 2012
Where To Find The Hudson Valley Etsy Team This Weekend
This weekend we're moving South like the birds!
Anjali Creations will be at Woodbury Fall ARTS Fest at Cooper Street & Railroad Avenue in Woodbury, NJ, on Saturday, September 29, from 11AM-6PM.
Yours truly, Meerwiibli by Sarah-Maria, will be at the Artisan Market on the DeKalb Avenue side of Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, NY on Saturday, September 29, from 9AM-6PM.
Happy shopping!
Anjali Creations will be at Woodbury Fall ARTS Fest at Cooper Street & Railroad Avenue in Woodbury, NJ, on Saturday, September 29, from 11AM-6PM.
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| Anjali Creations |
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| Meerwiibli by Sarah-Maria |
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Inspiration Wednesday - Teal Tones
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| Design-Seeds - Teal Tones |
I actually had a difficult time with this color palette. Silly right?
Here is the piece I made:
Porcelain from MarshaNealStudio
Pretty little brass bows are hand wire wrapped to these beautiful handmade porcelain diamonds.
They look like presents don't they?
Here is the palette I will be working with over the next week:
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| Feathered Autumn |
Here are some items from the Hudson Valley Etsy Team for inspiration:
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| FELTITNYC |
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| Ceruleanblue |
Make an item or choose materials inspired by the palette and write a blog post about it, post the item for sale, or post the item on your website. Add the link to your blog post, shop or website in the comments next week, to be featured as part of next weeks post please e-mail me at formysweetdaughter(at)me(dot)com before 6pm next Tuesday night.
The only rule is that if you use the Design-Seeds palette you must link directly to Design-Seeds.com.
Have fun and I can't wait to see what you make!
~Shannon
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Treasury Tuesday - September 25
Treasuries are a great way to check out many of our items at once. Visit our September thread on Etsy to check out more and leave comments.
'Autumn in the Valley' by mystichintime
100% Hudson Valley New York Etsy Team
'Creature Love' by geminiriverrocks
For the love of the little creatures in our lives, imaginative, or real!
 Signed Print of Origina...$20.00 |  Orange Dragonfly Fused ...$22.00 |  Japanese Bobtail Cat Or...$125.00 |  Shelf Sitter Monster Sc...$160.00 |
 Cat Face ID Badge Eyegl...$24.00 |  Monkey notecards, set o...$20.00 |  Royal Blue Braided Cord...$14.00 |  Guardian Cat$30.00 |
 Large Cotton Zipper Pou...$15.00 |  Letterpress Neon Owl Ca...$8.00 |  Butterfly and Purple Gl...$42.00 |  Cut Paper Arabian Horse...$20.00 |
 Blotto Birds - hand kni...$30.00 |  Ozzy$3.00 |  Peacock Pendant and Swa...$40.00 |  Felted Wool Dog Coat in...$45.00 |
'misty dreams' by betsybdesign
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