Patti Gibbons Art

A few weekends ago I picked up several lots of Victorian holiday cards, many of which I  used in my greeting cards. There were many however, that are too beautiful or collectible to cut up. Those I will eventually list on eBay or Etsy; some I will keep for my collection. Many of the cards (and some booklets) were printed by Raphael Tuck (England) who were printers of postcards, greeting cards, children's books, chromolithograph prints, etc., and were one of the first companies to offer contests for greeting card design.   They are one of my favorite companies, along with the fine quality postcards that Stengel printed.  With the advent of the industrial revolution and the growth of industry all around, postcard/card/scrap collecting became the rage, where women and children collected these images and pasted them into ledgers, scrapbooks, and was the start of scrapbooking in this country. The quality of chromolithograph printing is like nothing else you will find ...

First of all, I want to take a moment to thank you all for being my readers and friends.  Some of you have been following me for a long time.  That means you find my stories interesting, or my enjoy my art,  which comes deep from my heart and life experience.  For all of you I am so appreciative...and I want you to know that I LOVE getting your comments and support. May it come back to you tenfold. If there is one thing that I have learned in my life, is that Love is the Answer....for us all. That statement is a blog unto itself.  But for another time. I have got to get down to business here, which is, by the way, the reason I have not been writing much. I cannot teach, make art, AND write --- and do all of them well.  Two out of three...maybe, but not all three.  So as not to make myself crazy or stressed, I have focused on my art, and even focused my art on a few themes and medium for now. Open Studio for Black Friday tomorrow, 10-5. Most o...

  I have abandoned my dissertation on chormolithographic prints/cards for a word about greeting cards. And, Thanksgiving. In the early 1900's, when millions of postcards and greeting cards were being printed every day, every single holiday warrented sending a card.   Actually, people sent cards every day for any occasion back in the early 20th century. With the advent of this virtual technology, fewer and fewer cards are sent, especially for birthdays.  We get virtual cards, wishes from our friends on Facebook, a text, or a phone call.  I only received one card in the mail this year, vs. the usual half a dozen. I'm not complaining folks. I got more birthday wishes on Facebook that I have ever received in 10 years combined.  It made me smile.  But not sending cards is bad business for us greeting card designers, and it gets harder and harder to find our market.   However, I won't give up.  I love antique paper.  I think I ...

I have been having endless conversations in my head, and a few with my therapist about being able to sell art. I do it for the love of it, but isn't there a book that says do what you love and the money will follow? I'm still waiting. The problem is I what I make fits into a small niche market. VERY SMALL. Not many people buy cards these days, especially BLANK cards because that means that they have to actually write. Then to top it off, they contain Victorian images, and a majority of Americans have no clue about what they are nor care if what I make contains the original pieces, not reprints or copies. Then there is my twisted sense of humor. Once I heard a woman walk by my art and say "I don't get this".Bada bing. My mixed media pieces are very cool, but Larry keeps reminding me that people like to buy PAINTINGS. And I have a hard time fitting in time to paint, as I need more than an hour or two here and there to do it. It requires a commitment of sever...

I have been working hard on building up more stock of my cards for submission to Olana, to have them ready at the drop of a hat when my client emails me "NEED MORE CARDS" and to have for others to buy. I just spent nearly 100 dollars investing in about 500 pieces of new paper and postcards, in order to be ready. It is harder and harder to get antique paper at a price that I can afford to create with. I am a one woman show here, and only hire someone on occasion to help me put on the finishing touches of glitter for holiday cards, to package/label/price them, and that is usually just before a big show. The rest of the time I do it all myself; the designing, sewing, and usually everything else in between. Then there is the marketing, the listing on Etsy, and the occasional post here and on Facebook etc. I will never get "wealthy" from these cards, as they are labor and material intensive, but oh do I so enjoy making them. Since I often can't get into the studi...