thursday - amazing shop feature

this week's shop feature welcomes you to ladybirdland by allison strine, purveyor of ♥ Exuberant Art That Speaks to your Heart ♥ i personally own several pieces by allison and i can tell you that they really are fabulous, ranging from the just-for-fun to the truly inspirational. please check out her shop, i have no doubt you'll find something that speaks to you. and for more about allison, please read on!

• how long have you been at your trade?

I have been selling my artwork for about 2.5 years.

• how did you become interested in doing what you do?

After my oldest was born I became interested in scrapbooking, and that hobby turned into a full blown obsession, complete with schlepping a camera everywhere, reams of scrapping papers, and a studio. I set a goal to win an award from one of the scrapping magazines, and reaching that goal nearly did my marriage in! I realized that I needed to take a break, and quit cold turkey. Then I picked up pottery at the local arts center, and THAT became an obsession! A few months later I had outfitted our back porch with a wheel, glazes and bags and bags of clay. I threw pot after pot until our youngest came along. That put a stop to pottery. After a year or two, I started painting on six little six inch by six inch canvases. I still remember sitting at the kitchen table making these little ladies and birdies. Then I wondered what one of the ladies would say, and it was "Sometimes she goes the whole day without putting on a bra." That struck a chord with my friends, as did some of the other sayings. I don't remember why I thought it would be fun to create soldered jewelry of miniature prints of the collages, but I do know that I sat at that same kitchen table and soldered a hundred pendants before a good one came out. It was SO frustrating to learn to solder! At the same time, my daughter's kindergarten teacher told me about Etsy. It took a couple of months before I was brave enough to try to sell something, and I will never forget that thrill of the first "you sold something" email. Heck, I still get that thrill today!

• where do you find your inspiration?

I met Teesha Moore (www.teeshamoore.com) at an art retreat, and her creativity fairly electrified me. I had never seen anyone so COLORFUL! Love! Also, there are tons of amazing artists to be found in art magazines like Somerset Studio and Cloth Paper Scissors. I stopped reading those mags, though, 'cause I didn't want to copy anyone's work, even subconsciously.

• pick one song that speaks to you as an artist and please tell us why.

Well, the only way I could do this would be to write about a band that brings back a memory, and that band is The Beatles. I remember listening to my Paul-crazy babysitter singing ‘I Saw Her Standing There’. when I was about five. Then I remember watching the Beatles ‘65 record, with its rainbow stripe around the label, spinning around on my five dollar turntable. Later I played ‘Yesterday’ for an entire afternoon, back to back, lifting the needle at the end of the song and placing it right at the start again, while I bawled tears of agony over losing my dog. Then it was on to college, where I’ll never forget the moment my roommate walked in and told me John had been shot. When my brother died, I created a video set to “In My Life”, and we all watched Bradley on tv and cried bitter tears at the beauty of John’s voice, and the tragedy of loss. Oh, how I lived and died with The Beatles - When I moved to Germany, all by myself, I brought Paul’s voice with me, to play every morning on my cassette tape player, and comfort me in my loneliness. I’ve listened to scratchy 45s, and LP records, and eight track tapes, and cassettes, and my first compact disc purchase was Sergeant Pepper, and always the Beatles have been with me. Music is about as powerful a force as I’ve ever known, and in my life I hope I never lose my connection to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

• what is your favorite item in your shop and why?

My favorite item in my shop is always whatever's newest. It's the one I've most recently poured my little heart and soul into!

• what is the one thing about you and/or your art/creations that you would want someone who is about to visit your shop to know?

My work touches a chord with women who are of my generation, girls who can't believe they're starting to get wrinkly, girls who still feel that teenager insecurity inside sometimes. And they're moms - animal moms, child moms, women with a huge heart, which has probably suffered a bruise or two along the way. I want to offer a little sense of being compassionate to yourself, and a little sense of JOY!

• are you offering any specials/sales/promotions, etc. in conjunction with this feature?

Free Shipping (US only) for orders over $25. ************************************ ok, so you've heard from the lady herself...and here are a few of my personal favorites from her shop, though it was insanely tough to narrow this down to just three! have fun, laugh, be inspired.