Now Hear This!

My first guest essay for the Yahoo! Accessibility Blog is now live.

Buying Art without Trepidation

Recently I’ve had two different people ask “wow, how did you get such a cool art collection?” HowtoBuyArt is a downloadable .pdf that gives 6 great tips for art buyers from my experience as a collector, creator and curator of fine art.

Artists wishing to use this as a handout may reproduce it in its entirety with my permission. Artists wishing to excerpt it should contact me for permission.

Tying it All Together

My sister crafted this quilt for me from our April Showers Bring Sunflowers fabric collection.It ties together the creative spirit from fine art and fine craft, interpreted with love and generosity.

Kiki's Knots Quilt

Exciting News!

Hunter Heller to Spearhead Business Development for Art of Possibility LLC.
Whoo-hoo!

Santa Clara, CA (Feb. 9, 2011) – To anyone watching the growth of upstart Art of Possibility LLC over the past three years, its obvious need for brilliant, industrious people with a tolerance for an enthusiastic entrepreneur with zero patience but a good idea has been a conundrum. Happily, Art of Possibility announces that Hunter Heller will bring his expertise in complex licensing relationships to the company to propel forward its mission of promoting the fine artwork of physically disabled artists under its Art of Possibility® Studios brand.

As a licensing strategist with over 16 years experience from diverse media organizations and globally recognized brands, Disney and Sesame Street, Hunter is charged with nurturing relationships with licensees and retailers. His background across traditional merchandise and publishing categories will allow him to leverage Art of Possibility’s content and brand to create significant opportunities, identify critical relationships and develop strategies for growth.

“We’re delighted and relieved to have Hunter’s talents on board” noted overworked Art of Possibility founder Ketra Oberlander. “Growing from an idea that ‘just might work’ to active licensees, recruiting and developing new artists, and ever enlarging the number of SKUs that express the breadth of our circle of love meant an avalanche of work consuming and dividing my time. I’m confident that Hunter will be a huge asset to us and I look forward to our continued expansion when we’ll need a dozen like-minded executives and have a wheelbarrow full of operating capital to reward them lavishly.”

About Hunter Heller: As part of Disney Licensed Publishing’s North American team for 13 years, Hunter managed a portfolio of licensees across multiple publishing categories and distribution channels. During his three year tenure at Sesame Workshop beginning in 2006, as Assistant Vice President, Global Consumer Products, his merchandise responsibilities spanned territories including Canada, Latin America, France, Spain and emerging markets such as India, South Korea and the Middle East.

About Art of Possibility: Art of Possibility Studios is the only for-profit art publishing and licensing brand exclusively representing physically disabled artists whose work represents hope, opportunity and transcendence over adversity. Founded by award-winning blind painter Ketra Oberlander, the company locates and develops art and artists who seek to share their work and experiences with others in a commercial context to uplift, encourage and inspire. Art of Possibility Studios’ beautiful artwork is featured on consumer goods produced by socially conscious manufacturers committed to cause oriented retail product lines.  Consumers, interested business affiliates and disabled artists seeking representation may contact Art of Possibility Studios through aopstudios.com. 

Sewing With Nancy

With a Little Help from Our Friends

No artist is an island. It’s unrealistic to expect an artist to create original work, package it, market it, track accounts, meet all compliance requirements as a business, return calls, answer emails, and fix dinner. No other field has an image of a lone creative force conquering the world that the visual arts have; it’s stupid. At Art of Possibility we work together with a team of subject-matter experts to do something truly meaningful. Showcasing the creative output that starts with a painting and ends with a team of contributors on two episodes of Sewing with Nancy gave us a chance for a fun time, which always gets my attention. A fun time with snacks well that’s a huge personal triumph.

Of course Nancy was a gracious host and runs an amazing program teaching millions of viewers how to sew for the past 20 years. When we met in 2009 she knew immediately she wanted to share our work with her audience because we are making art matter by making art that matters. When you watch the “Sew Elastics – Stretch Your Options” episodes we are featured in the Nancy’s Corner segments of that two-part series, you’ll see work from the Wise Tree and April Showers Bring Sunflowers fabric collections available through Free Spirit Fabrics. Stay tuned for upcoming fabric releases and news about our work as creators, not just of art, but of the world we all want to enjoy.

A Jewel Today

Jewels of Elul curated by Craig Taubman

Art of Possibility believes that no one has to do a grand, heroic gesture but instead every one is empowered to make our own meaningful contributions regardless of circumstance.  Today’s Jewel of Elul, picked up by the Huffington Post, shares a light slice of our world with a larger audience.  Our hope is to lead others to be the world we all want to wake up to tomorrow.

Borders Blastoff!

Ketra with Art of Possibility® Studios bookmarks at the Santana Row Borders in San Jose, CA.

Wow.  On the spinning rack right by the cash registers, row 2 is filled with Art of Possibility bookmarks.  What a cool feeling to see our work in stores nationwide.

A happily tired report from the EBHQ biennial

The Wise Tree collection was a star at the East Bay Heritage Quilters biennial in Oakland, CA (Apr. 10-11, 2010)! We joined our friends at New Pieces on Sunday afternoon to share our mission made manifest in fabrics with quilters in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Pictured: Sharona Fischrup, owner of New Pieces in Berkeley, CA and Ketra Oberlander, founder of Art of Possibility® Studios, with its debut fabric collection by George Mendoza for Art of Possibility.

Pictured: Proof that a good time was had by all. The ransacked display by the show’s close Sunday evening says more about the popularity of the line than we ever could.

Pillow Talk

A little fabric, a little quilting, a LOT of style! These Art of Possibility pillows pop with color and are a great example of the creative spirit let loose on our fabric line through Free Spirit Fabric. Buy. Sew. Style.

CHA-CHA-CHA

CHA show was like a meditation retreat. Just this one pic: