Patti Edmon Artist

Last night Traditional Bank hosted their first annual "Connections... Holiday Bazaar." We have had a relationship with the bank as both a customer and vendor (they have been an EdmonDesign graphic design/marketing client) for more than a dozen years; when we started working together I established a very fabulous friendship with my contact there, who is now the president - and still one of my all time favorite people. The event was designed to bring community women in, serve them fabulous food and wine and offer a selection of holiday gift and decor items, from jewelry and giftware to catering, skin care and a variety of specialty items. And, they were kind enough to invite me to display my Altered Attic holiday art. Jim also framed several of his illustrations to add a little variety to the scene. Each booth was 'personed' by women, in my case our business manager Kristyn, me and Alice, my wonderful daughter, without whom I could not have managed - let me tell you, ...

When I was working on my piece for the Trash Outside the Box Art-E-Zine swap, I was so focused on finishing it and sending it on its way to Canada, that I forgot that I'd get one in return. And, did I ever. This beautiful box was created by Pat MacMicken, who also hosted the swap. I'm amazed by the intricacy, detail, the sheer prettiness of this piece and I'm excited about adding it to my collection. A prize for sure! That is the appeal of swaps, to me, being able to look around my studio and see fairy jars, ATCs, shrines and boxes, all made by women I've mostly never met in person, but with whom I feel connected through art. And, I suppose, knowing that my work is in studios across North America, hopefully emanating all the same good will, good vibes and sense of being in tune with artists working at all levels, with or without chronic illness, but all with our fair share of burdens, each translating those into meaningful, stunning, radiant art. I've had to drop ou...

Every time I do a swap, I find that I'm trying something new, which isn't that amazing since I have only belonged to art groups for a couple  years:) From inchies, Artist's Coping Kits, to ATCs, fairy jars and, last week on Art-e-Zine, trash outside the box.  Like many of the projects I've so enjoyed, there was a lot of freedom, the only requirement being the box. So, I found a heart shaped yard sale cast off and went to work. I got out wAy too much - paper, tissue, scraps, trims, beads and found items, then I sat and stared. I tried planning, holding things against the surface to see how they blended, if the colors matched. That got me absolutely nowhere. I glued a layer of paper on all the outer surfaces, ending up with purples and greens. After some serious stewing and procrastinating, I finally found that switch inside that turns off the monkey brain and lets the hands work as though unattached from the circuits that try to control, er, perfect the process. I began ...

Nothing like a holiday to remind us how important people and tradition are in our lives. I often struggle with isolation- a chronic illness, making lemonade (art), even buying my supplies online and I got in a funk thinking about my lack of plans for the 4th. I stared back at my prednisone-puffy face in the hair salon (first time in six months) while clusters of tanned, slim gals chatted into cell phones and to each other - is it just me or do other people's parties always sound more exciting? I'm amazed by how quickly I let myself wallow in that 'left behind' feeling. The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. A dozen or so years ago my hub and I started wandering down to watch the 8:00 a.m. 10K race. From the comfort of chairs in the median, under beautiful old trees, we'd drink coffee, watch the runners sprint out Main Street, loop around and make their way back downtown. One year we invited a few people over for more coffee and brunch after the...