Meet Etsy Artist & Photographer: Aephemera

Ever since she was three years old Kate E. Austin, the talent behind Aephemera, has aspired to be an artist. "I went to the Norman Rockwell Museum in Mendon, Vermont with my mother - I saw the art for sale and wanted to sell mine!" She grew up in Killington, Vermont, where she didn't feel like she fit in. "I graduated in 1999 and went to Hartwick College in Oneonta, New York for two years for art, then dropped out (what do you do with an art degree, anyway!) and joined AmeriCorps for two years, working with at-risk youth in Rutland, Vermont." She now resides in Glens Falls, New York, where she has a studio in The Shirt Factory, an artists' community. She also maintains her own website, http://www.aephemera.net/.

Her artwork is largely autobiographical. "It's kind of like journaling for me, and comes out without my even knowing what I'm arting about. Then when I look back on it, I can say... oh, THAT'S what I was feeling!" She experiments with all types of mediums, "pushing the boundaries and finding new ways to use traditional media. I don't like to lock myself in to one media or style. I also do small cartoons, which come naturally - I've been making cartoon people for a long time now, and have recently been working on a blog with them - http://idioticidioms.livejournal.com/."

Currently Etsy is only a hobby "because I'm not pulling enough income to call it a business, but I would love to be able to call it my job and make enough to pay my bills without having to work another job." Liek most Etsy sellers, she'd like to make a sale every day. "I'm also hoping that (B&M) businesses will see what I have to offer and start consigning prints or buying them wholesale." To get her name out there, she's plans to approach several local shops. "It would be wonderful to start sending my things all over the country," she admits. She advises her fellow Etsy sellers to "keep with it! I'm not running a booming business yet, but every sale I make gets me so giddy that somebody else is able to connect with my artwork. Keep doing what you love, ask for advice in the forums (the forums are SO valuable!), and promote yourself as many places as you can!" Please visit her shop: http://aephemera.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com