In pursuing my interest to learn more about the artist behind the creations that I love (I think it makes the pieces even more special...) it's been such a pleasure to get to know more about Cindy Adkins from Her Whimsical Musings.
The first time I visited Cindy's Etsy Shop, I was captured by the opening sentence in her shop profile which states... "Welcome to a friendly place where altered art and mixed come together to find a spot in your home". I thought that was such a warm & lovely introduction and as I've come to know Cindy better - friendly is a big part of who she is. Her creativity and warmth comes through in all that she does; and when I was planning my holiday decorations, I knew that some of Cindy's pieces would provide that extra special touch that I wanted.
And sure enough, look how they arrived...the packaging was so pretty, I almost didn't want to unwrap my order.....and of course, the first thing I thought of was ..... this is a perfect package to celebrate Pink Saturday.
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| Love the pink flowers on the label. |
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| The Pink wrapping paper and bow is so pretty. |
Cindy developed her love of creating, both artistically and musically, when she was very young. When her children were young, she owned a children's recording company and was a voting member of N.A.R.A.S., the prestigious organization that owns the Grammy Awards. She designed album covers, wrote songs and performed. Her first album was made into a CD with animation and became the first children's home karaoke program.
Cindy has quilted, designed needlepoint pieces and painted her entire life - but she originally did not plan on becoming an artist - although clearly she was born with a natural talent that led her in that direction. She has vivid memories in her early childhood of painting the sky her favorite turquoise color - all in her mind.
One of her most memorable is when she was five years old, she was painting a paint-by-number Micky Mouse picture for her Mom's Mother's Day present. The paints fell from their holder and she was forced to have to paint free form on her own. Cindy recalls, "when Mother's Day came, I was in tears when I brought the painting to my Mom with a towel over it. I explained that I tried to surprise her but that it did not turn out right. What I had painted was a piece of modern art...and when my Mom saw it, she smiled and said it was beautiful". The next day she had it professionally framed.
Years later, at Cindy's parents home, a gallery owner who was visiting for the evening, was captivated by the painting Cindy had done at five....not knowing who the artist was. What made this even more special was that her parents had an extensive, award winning art collection - but the gallery owner kept coming back to Cindy's childhood creation, where she said that each time she looked at it - she found something else that caught her attention.
Her inspiration comes from various themes and she creates continuously, even in her sleep, where she dreams about creating. She enjoys working with soy silk and fibers and she especially loves it when they take on a life of their own on the canvas. Working with mixed media allows her the freedom to use everything from rusted pieces to vintage jewelry, lace...even fishing tackle. Cindy says she creates pieces that "I hope people will look at time and again and still see something new that they had not noticed before".
Favorite projects are those where she can manipulate all facets of textures into the pieces. She enjoys designing art for cigar boxes and journals...and also loves working on miniature stretch canvases. She recently opened her Etsy Shop at the urging of friends and she enjoys it very much. She loves being in contact with her customers so that there is a connection between the artist and the art.
Cindy sums it up perfectly when she says... "When they put something of mine in their homes, they get a true sense of who created it". I love having the Cindy's generous & friendly spirit be a part of my home.
These are the tags that I purchased for my holiday decorations...
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| The scope and detail of this tag is amazing. You will see how I ended up using this in a post later this month. |
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| The little nest eggs are such a sweet little touch. |
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| The Paris tag is used for my Jeanne d'Arc Living inspired Christmas vignette. |
Look at the detail on these tags...
And the journal is amazing. Such a work of art...I am not sure that I will actually use it...other than as a keepsake and use it for a future vignette I am working on. I love this piece.
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| The seashell is a little detail that Cindy added knowing that I love seashells so much. |
I love the lace and the initial D and the vintage music...and
on and on. There are so many things I love about this journal.
Here are some of my favorite things from Her Whimsical Musings....
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| Coastal Chic Tussie Mussie |
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| Vintage Rose Repurposed Cigar Box |
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| Nantucket Cottage Tussie Mussie |
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| Travel Journal The detail is amazing on this piece. |
Here are some amazing tags...
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| Imagine Art Tag |
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| Espresso Mix Media Tag |
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| Fairy Memory Tag I love this one for a spring vignette |
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| Nesting Box |
When I asked Cindy what her favorite hobbies were, she said she loves to travel and to dance. She has traveled as far east as Turkey and loves all dance - from salsa to country. She has found, whether its in her New Orleans area home - or on the streets of Ephesus....music is a universal language that everyone understands. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit more about Cindy and Her Whimsical Musings.
Linking up to Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound
