Patti Edmon Artist

When I read that Seth Apter was launching another Buried Treasure adventure it wasn't difficult to figure out what post I wanted to use. This post (published last year) is the essence of who I am and why I am an artist.  Thanks, as always, to Seth, such an amazingly creative artist and even greater person. He shares so much of himself with this community and for that I give him thanks. Extra appreciation for the support he so easily provides, just because he's that's kind of guy!  Invisible Illness (Awareness) Week  has begun! In keeping with the theme, another of my choices is to be my best possible self. And that includes reaching out, sharing, caring, helping when I can... all qualities of being a good friend. There's an old saying, to make a friend you first have to be one. True, but. Sometimes those of us with chronic illness get overlooked, passed by as though not being able to  able make the party means we don't need to get an invitation. ...

Is it just me or does Seth Apter find more inventive ways to keep the online mixed-media community connected than one would think possible? Thanks to Seth, The Altered Page , the Buried Treasure has been launched. Bloggers dig through the archives for a favorite, for whatever reason, post and republish it. Hence the name, Buried Treasure. I was fortunate to cross paths with Seth and have been included in many of his creative collaboration endeavors. He is truly the treasure! Take a look at the blogs listed on his page, along with his favorite posts - you won't be disappointed!

This is the fifth of seven in the Seeking Sanctuary series I completed a few weeks ago. The pieces are currently hanging at The Nest: Center for Women, Children and Families (until I pick them up tomorrow!) and they couldn't have found a more appropriate setting. Each piece is deeply, specifically personal, with so much symbolism that it's amusing when I hear a comment like, "Oh, that's so pretty!" In this piece for example, Cinderella, there is a rusty razor blade, a gun and a stick pin, albeit masked amid pearls and a gorgeous Frozen Charlotte.  Most of us know the pain of rejection, humiliation, falling short, abuse, neglect and other sorrows and I wanted to express darker moments in these, a sweeping out of the old bones, per se. So, as you can see, the shoe doesn't fit Cinderella after all... no happy ending.  In (her fourth volume of) The Diary of Anais Nin , she wrote about the creative's need for emotional excess; in other words, my ...

Maine is the only New England state I hadn't had a chance to visit - until this week. The photos I'd seen, friends' stories... there are no disappointments. Though I grew up in New York (state) I've lived in Kentucky for so many years that it is truly a refreshing memory zing to step into this climate (a couple dozen degrees cooler as well:) and culture. A couple of hours on a sailboat offered a splendid vista, the coastline and legendary lighthouses are as amazing as I'd imagined. And to think that some of the oldest buildings in the country are in this area is fascinating. My sister and brother-in-law drove up to Acadia yesterday and the photos are incredible. The original Acadians were French who were driven out by the English. They sailed down the coast and ended up in Louisiana, and Acadian morphed into Cajun along the way. I'm glad my mother is a history buff:), I mean, who knew?? There are so many photo opportunities that it's almost overwhelming. I...

Seth Apter will be publishing Buried Treasure in just two days!! I've got my post ready and can't wait to start the hunt. Thanks Seth for all you do and I'm sure this event will be a rousing success - so many fabulous blogs to investigate, some for the first time, along with many old friends. Hope you join in!

This Post, entitled, Polymer Clay Not my Forte, originally aired in September 09; I think it's one of my favorites because I had such a great time - close friends, art community, creating using a new process... hope to read your buried treasure soon! Click on the Buried Treasure icon in the right-hand column for more details! (Sorry, no intent to dis myself, the title just rhymed:) Still drenched in the flavors and sights at Hotel 21C, we ventured across the street to the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft for our afternoon with Polymer Clay. Our wonderfully talented and gregarious instructor, Lisa Simon , began by talking about the basics and showing us a few of her wonderful creations. Yes. She's the kind of teacher that makes you feel like any and everything is possible, if not in a four-hour window! Looking at the variety and complexity of her dolls was quite daunting for me though, a newcomer to clay, as well as Cassie, who is enormously creative but says she doesn't ...

I didn't sign up in time for the second round of Seth Apter's Buried Treasure, a fun and very collaborative project for sure. Seth posted some amazing art that he's done and I've enjoyed treasure hunting, found many new bloggers... Who knew that there could be so many amazing people out there, creating, opening their worlds and lives for people like me.  If you haven't made the rounds yet, I encourage you, no urge you to pay a visit to some of the many wonderful arty, fun, incredible artists out there. Grab a mug of freshly brewed coffee - or tea - or your favorite afternoon beverage, curl up with your computer and go to the Altered Page,  get started, you won't be disappointed! When I chose favorite posts for the first round, I focused on the writing... probably since I've been a writer all my life. Even though I didn't sign up for the "Revisited" tour, I decided to post a couple of old favorite collages. I have to laugh as I say that, because...

The following two posts were originally published in 2008; in order to participate in  Seth  Apter's  Buried Treasure project, I read through the archives searching for a post or two that I liked enough to publish again. I write for myself, to stay sane, to express thoughts that  pile up in my head, and, because I've always been a writer (thanks Patti Digh and David Robinson:). But it's my fondest wish that the words I share will inspire, touch, cause a moment's consideration, a twinge or a laugh...  So, if you decide to read them, thanks a million; if you read them when they were originally posted, thanks a million more! 

I'm rooting around the archives for a post that could be considered a favorite for Seth Apter's Buried Treasure project; in the meantime, thought I'd post two more 3 x 3 canvases that I sent in for the Atlanta Art House Coop project.  When I saw this word I thought, oh great, how am I going to depict that... a case of old eggs or carton of spoiled milk? A corpse? I realized I didn't want to go for the most literal translation, so I started thinking about the different meanings for the word and my excitement level perked a little bit... air, that's it... the exhalation of breath. Aha, I started having fun! The word? Expiration. This one is a little campy, I admit, kinda Rocky Horror Picture Show. But, once again, I avoided the most obvious. Money, jewels, an Ace of diamonds to represent gambling, part of an American Express card.. deeper in debt... a pirate? It's amazing how much can fit on one tiny canvas, which, of course, was a big part of the challenge and ...