9.17.2014

That Time I Found My Painting in a Thrift Store

No. Seriously. I did. So here's what happened. I was in a local thrift store called A Better Way. It's this awesome store that a ministry started to help men who are trying to climb out of an addiction. Actually it's bigger than that....look here if you are interested in learning more about what this amazing ministry is doing in our community of men. The list is lengthy! They are truly changing lives daily. I was looking for a chandelier to put over the table on our screened in porch. The current one was quite ugly.
Anyhoo...I was cruising the aisles when BAM! I saw this:
It's blurry...but at the time I wasn't really focusing on the photo being in focus I was focusing on the fact that MY ART IS IN A FREAKING THRIFT STORE.  I mean seriously? How many of you out there have actually found one of your original works of art in a thrift store? I'll venture to say zero. I am pretty sure upon seeing it on this checkerboard floor I exclaimed something. Something. 

So the painting. When I opened the Vintage-Flea with my friend Valerie she said, "You need to paint some wall art we could sell." You see prior, I was just a teacher. I'd painted lots of murals, but never a canvas. Truth. After college and up until this time I was truly focused on teaching. I was not a painter. This was 2005 (I think). So I painted what I liked, flowers. The above is one of the first paintings I ever painted. I did a ton in this series with different flowers. All in a row. And we sold them all. Then I moved on to pears. Yes, I painted pears. Lots of pears. One time I painted a 4 foot pear. Creepy right? And then I started painting birds. And that's when I became a painter. 
There wasn't a price on the painting yet so I found the manager. She said, "How's $5 sound?" Awesome. So I bought my painting back. For $5. And yes, I told her it was mine. She laughed. I laughed. In addition, I found the above amazing Tiffany lamp for over the porch table. It is SO US and our porch. The embroidery was calling my name too. Of course it's still sitting on the floor, not hung. One day it'll hit me where it needs to hang. You should see the number of french knots in it! I shouldn't tell you this, but it cost more than my painting. OH MY GOODNESS.....I found my painting in a thrift store. Well, it made for a great blog post right? And at least I can laugh about it.




6 comments:

Jane Perala said...

I was a potter in another life, and have found some of my pieces in garage sales. Kind of puts a damper on the day! Lol

Unknown said...

Well least you have a sense of humour. I didn't see it but I was told once that a T-shirt I had designed was for sale in a thrift store. Gotta laugh! Thanks for the giggle.

julie said...

I found a tiny box I painted at a high school craft fair booth - next to several knock offs of the same box!!! I bought it back, too. I was pretty certain the person working the booth was just filling in, so I didn't make a big deal of it. I did pick up a card for the "store" affiliated with the booth...and when I went to visit the store, it didn't even exist. Shady, right?

Anonymous said...

i have found my handmade jewelry in the local thrift several times... not to worry. everyone's tastes change. always glad they passed it on instead of tossing it in the trash!

Debbie said...

I have a friend, who made a baby quilt, for a close friend. The quilt wasn't too intricate, but it was made with love, in colors she felt the friend would like. My friend found that quilt, 2 years later, on the ground, at someone's garage sale! It wasn't at the friend's house, but someone else's garage sale. So, that quilt traveled a bit. My friend bought it for $2, and after washing it, donated it to a charity.

I think you were meant to see your painting again, so you could bring it back into your life, as a memory of the beginning stages, of your "painting" life. I love it!

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