Art for Art's Sake

I love crafts, I make crafts, and I read about people who make crafts the rest of the time, but there is a very special place in my heart for fine art.  My father took me to museums all his life.  He knew the metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City like the back of his hand.

When he took me to the museum he would take me to see are the art he knew I would appreciate in certain times of my life.  When I was a ballerina he took me to see the ballet dancers in pastel by Degas.  When I was studying the middle ages he took me to see the tapestries of unicorns.  And when I was in art school he took me to the modern section to learn to appreciate Pollack and De Kooning.  He always had local listings for new shows cut out from the newspaper.  In short, my father taught me to love art. 

So when it comes to my art in my house I prefer to have fine art on my walls.  I got lucky, many people in my family are artists and I am the keeper of their art. 

Without further ado, here is my amazing art collection.

A close family friend painted this.  She took care of me when I was little. I love the colors and softness of this one.

This painting is so special to me.  It actually belongs to my step-mother, but I have been taking care of it.  My godmother painted this when she lived here in America.  She now lives in London and this painting is a daily reminder of how much I care for her. 

This one was painted by my ex-boyfriend, 'nuff said.

I got this water color from my father and step-mother it is of Swayambu (a temple in Nepal) and painted by my father's Buddhist teacher.  It was just a coincidence that the colors go with my living room.

Here is another one by my ex.  That statue on the left is Bertha (my mother's fertility goddess), she is really ugly, but I have to honor her until mom can come retrieve her.

Jimmy Hendrix (yes an original), was taken by my god father.  I treasure this photograph.

Finally, my sister, I am so lucky to have such a talented sister.  I am holding this one for her until she comes to claim it (see what I said about being the keeper of the family's art?).  It is a landscape and in the right light you can see the gold.  I have another one she made with items from my shower.  It is even better.  I have to find a place for that one.

These last two are very special to me.

(Sorry about the reflections on the glass I know it is hard to see. In case you can't tell it is two boats.)

I painted these two when I was in art school and could paint (I keep saying I will get back to it).  I framed the first one and gave it to my husband when we were just dating.  The second painting is one of my many "toilet paper paintings."  I have a whole series of them, most of which have been lost over the years.  

As you can see I'm a collector only of my family's art, but I love to have the original works of my artist family and friends, not only because I love art, but because each one reminds me of them and how special they are.

Crafts have a place in my heart, but fine art will always have a place on my walls.  I feel the art I display tells a little story about my life.  It brings character to my home and fills my house with memories. 

(P.S. Crafts have a place on walls too, don't worry)