Who Are Art Collectors?

If when you think of art collectors, images like this come to mind...

(Please under no circumstances feel it is necessary to watch these videos the whole way through unless you really want)


...or this...



...or, hey, even this (from the L Word)...




(The clip cut out...didn't she faint after crying?)

...perhaps you don't see yourself as an art collector, or potential art collector.

Yet, isn't an art collector someone who simply collects art?

It doesn't have to be expensive art. It doesn't have to be art collected as an investment. It doesn't have to be art that is famous, or art from a hundred or more years ago. Collections don't have to be reasoned out. They don't have to be filled with things other people will "get," or fall in love with themselves. Collections can be genre-specific or varied and diverse. They can be big or small.

I like art collections-- whatever they may be-- best when they become a part of a home, become the landscape of a home.

Since I've recently moved, I'm rediscovering the art I've collected here and there. To be honest, one of the main reasons I have art in my home is because my mom is an artist who collects art and also knows how to give it away. Ahem.

I am not someone built for collecting much more than papers (you know junk mail, forms from the doctor, etc. etc.), virtually useless household items I aquired at various times when I couldn't find *exactly* what I needed, and books that could fill a lifetime reading list. I'm working on simplifying and avoiding all but the third habit.

But art is a different matter. I bought art here and there, sure, but in general, I never thought I could afford to purchase art and never thought I had the eye for it either. Don't get me wrong. I have always very much enjoyed art. But I considered myself terrible at finding any kind of treasure, including the art that other people I knew seemed to stumble upon. Not to mention that I worried about having kid-friendly art, and had no clue where to look for real, original art. I gave in to always having mass-produced prints from Target.

Something else has been stirring in me, however. Not long ago, I took some time to check out my mom's shop on Etsy. On the home page of her shop, she quotes from the Cheap Art Manifesto:
"Art is like Good Bread
Art is for Kitchens
Art Sings Hallelujah
It needs to be EVERYWHERE"

I liked it, but it only recently sunk in, sometime after my mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday early this summer, and I named a ring from a jewlery shop on Etsy.

I've just realized that art can be accessible to people like you and me.

Like I said, "It doesn't have to be expensive art. It doesn't have to be art collected as an investment. It doesn't have to be art that is famous, or art from a hundred or more years ago. Collections don't have to be reasoned out. They don't have to be filled with things other people will 'get,' or fall in love with themselves. Collections can be genre-specific or varied and diverse. They can be big or small. I like art collections-- whatever they may be-- best when they become a part of a home, become the landscape of a home."

Go to Etsy today! Be sure to register before you even start to look around. That way if you find an Etsy shop you really love, you can easily save it in your favorites and return when you have a few bucks.

Go to "Categories" on the left side of the page. Click on "art." The look again at the left side of the page, where you will find a list of different types of art. Click on any type, and you will find the list continues below that type, with subcategories. Check it out! And don't think. Just look for art that stirs you. Just pay attention to what draws you in.

Or get on and do a search like I did. Remember to set a particular category, which I did not, and try out other categories (such as "handmade items" instead of "art") if your first search doesn't turn up the kind of thing you are looking for. My first one was for Our Lady of Guadalupe images, and right away, I found an amazing shop with a great Guadalupe pot holder being sold at the even more amazing price of $8.00 (Something I can afford! Just not RIGHT this minute.), plus some other, more expensive items I can drool over until I have a bit more cash and want to splurge on myself just a bit. Many artists will sell small, affordable items of art. And what is great about Etsy, of course, is that like a market, you can get to know the sellers...in other words, this is a great way to start getting to know some wonderful artists.

Imagine how your world might expand!! Imagine how worldly and networked you could become ;). Who knows, you could even make some new friends. You know that shop I just linked to with the great Guadalupe pot holder? The artist, as it so happens, is in my very own state. What a wild and fun coincidence. Maybe when I finally buy that pot holder, I'll get in touch with her.

So in short, if you haven't checked out Etsy, I encourage you to do so.