A couple of weeks ago, Maria launched one of the most significant ventures since she opened her Schoolhouse Studio, she opened up an Etsy Page (Etsy is the global arts website) and is selling potholders, postcards, posters, wool, and soon, vintage scarves, sketches and other artworks.
This has been successful she is selling her art regularly there and it is easy for buyers, they can go on the site 24/7 and don’t need to e-mail anybody. She is not going to sell her quilts on Etsy, only on the blog. She explains why in the video.
This afternoon, she asked if I would take a video in the studio, so she could talk about her very different potholders, going up on Etsy today – there, she is fullmoonfiberart , and there is also a link from her blog.
Come and see her talk about this new initiative, I think it is very important. We have a lot of fun doing these videos together, I didn’t know Maria had a sense of humor when I first met her, I never saw it. I see it a lot now. Come and see what’s going up on Etsy, new potholders and a beautiful hand-sewn lace hanging piece.
You can also see how Maria is learning how to sell her art all over the country from her much loved studio.
The very first Little Free Library that Maria and I saw was this one standing out in the bright sunshine of Arlington, Vt. She got a goddess book she loves and uses all the time in her art. This little free library inspired us to build one of our own last summer, and I am very happy to report it now gets regular use, books come and go.
Yesterday, we drove by the first little free library and Maria found another book, a novel by Marilyn French called “The Woman’s Room.” On our next trip that way, we’ll replace it with one of our books.
It’s wonderful to see cars pull over and people – including young people – hop out to see what’s in the library.
The Little Free Library program now has spawned more than 40,000 little libraries all over the country. Ours was built by our friend Jay Bridge.
It’s a wonderful idea meant to built grass-roots community. It works. You can read about it here.
Gus has given me an enormous gift with his life, and his death. He inspires me every day to keep faith in the love, empathy and compassion of so many good people, who will my post office box every morning with love and memory.
There is nothing more touching that those five and ten and twenty-dollar bills, and those singles neatly tucked into cards with sweet messages, all in memory of Gus. Every one of those dollars is going to help the refugee children and their families, and the Mansion Assisted Care residents, people on the opposite ends of life sharing great need and vulnerability.
Truly, I have never seen anything quite like it, and anyone who doubts the goodness and generosity of the human spirit would do well to read them. I’ll quote from a few from today’s Post Office Box (P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816):
From Milwaukee (anonymous): “In celebration of dogs and the lessons they teach.”
From Diane in Myrtle Beach, N.C., five one dollar bills: “I’m sorry about Gus. I liked to hear how he and Fate used to play together…I’m enclosing a small donation in memory of Gus, I wish I could give more but I live on a tight budget.”
(You gave a lot, Diane)
From Donna in Tuscon, Arizona, who sent $20: “This donation honors the “Little King” and is for the Mansion (wherever needed). Thank you for your loving, shining hearts and for the gift of Gus. Peace, love, and grace…”
From Jenny in Chandler, Arizona: “You go be you. Continue to be you. You did exactly what you needed to do with and for Gus. No one has a right to say otherwise!”
From Lisa in Omaha, Nebraska: “I’m very sorry for your loss of Gus. He seemed like such a great little dog. I do hope you and Maria get another little dog, and I can’t wait to hear about him or her.”
From Jean in Lakewood, Colorado, who sent $20: “It is special to honor your special dog and the work you do for RISSE and the Mansion – blessings as you continue to meet needs and bring life.”
For Debbie in Loveland, Ohio, who sent a check for the Gus Fund: “Only the good die you and Gus was such a sweet, good canine who brought joy to all those he met.”
From Linda, in Northern Virginia, who sent a check for $100: “I have kind of put off writing about Gus because I know whenever I lose a dog, I cannot really bear to handle the condolences from friends….The really miraculous thing is the earth turns, the other animals love me and it gets easier. I am enclosing a contribution.”
I’m afraid I don’t quite have the words to express the gratitude and comfort these messages have brought to me and Maria. The people who read my blog quite often understand me far better than I understand myself, they know me better than I know myself, they see my emotions more clearly that i do. I guess people can be revealed by their writing and by the dogs they choose to live with and love.
Hard to get my head around that. When you get scores of letters like that from all over the country you have to ask yourself if you are worthy. I will try to be worthy. Maria, I think, is already there.
Lisa, I am thinking hard about another dog and talking with Maria about it. I will keep you posted. More than anything else, your letters are helping me to decide.
The Gus Fund is the new name of my Mansion/Refugee/Children’s Fund. I thought it would be great get donations in his honor, a way of giving his life and death real meaning.
You don’t need to send money to honor Gus’s death, but if you wish to, I will apply it to my work with the refugees and Mansion residents, and I promise you it will do good. The small donations are very powerful and meaningful. You can write to The Gus Fund, c/o Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816, or send them via Paypal, [email protected]. Those bills add up.
When I think of people on “tight budgets” or fixed incomes reaching for those bills, putting them in an envelope, putting a stamp on them, getting to their Post Offices, there is an overwhelming feeling of joy and connection. Dogs like Gus speak for us, even when we cannot speak for ourselves. Thanks, thanks.
