A bunch of years ago I came home from being away for two years on a tiny island in the middle of the south Pacific. My two years as a Peace Corps volunteer had ended and I was ready to become a full time artist. I started by making crazy little mixed media sculptures, goofball media costume jewelry and painted t-shirts. I was successful! So I kept at it for years.
At first I was Martoons, but when Al Gore invented the internet some guy named Martin something who also worked in a cartoony style had already grabbed martoons dot com so I gave my art the moniker HappyArt and snagged this domain name for keeps!
My art fair career morphed into national wholesale fine craft venues and I enjoyed much success with that too. Always open to learning new media and sending it through the “Marti filter” as a fellow exhibitor once said of my style I designed and sold fine crafts using aluminum to plasticine – silk to wood. If I found it delightful and could make the objects profitable then usually my clients and their customers did too.
Things carried on and I became more digitally savvy. Also my overworked hands were starting to break down from overuse so I began moving away from wholesaling my art and into web site construction and illustration.
Then I moved to Kentucky. Then the economy took a nose dive and my long distance web clients starting cutting back on needing my services.
So what’s an artist to do?
Go back to her roots of course! After a bit of a hiatus I am designing a new body of work, this time with a decided focus on fantastically fun fiber felting – where I can ‘paint’ with soft alpaca and wool fur hand dyed into gorgeously rich hues and turn into scarves, sculptures, throws and purses!
The New Booth
I don’t have a whole booth’s worth of fiber art yet – so below is my new booth with both fiber and paintings in it. Wish me luck as I apply to art fairs for later this year and 2012. And you have a recommendation, do share!
I love the booth floor – it really sets off your fun work in the sophisticated way it deserves! May I ask where you got it. I would like to get that kind of floor for my booth too. Thanks!
Contact me! 🙂
Where did you get the floor.mit is really cool.
Sorry for the delayed reply, your comment was held in my spam folder. Here’s a sample: https://www.amazon.com/Sorbus-Interlocking-8-Inch-Flooring-Borders/dp/B077MV9BLB
Good luck!
Can you tell me more about your flooring? I am an “ emerging artist” and was granted entry to my first show. I’d love to make a statement!
Hi Jessica, Sorry for the delayed response, your comment went into my spam folder for some reason. My flooring was interlocking foam squares in a faux wood pattern. Good luck at your shows!