Meet Etsy Artist: kself

Keena has been interested in art her whole life. "My mother used to be a landscape artist, so I suppose that is where my talent comes from," she explains. An avid animal lover, she often finds inspiration in them. "I like to watch wild life, especially birds," she gushes. Until recently she considered her art just a hobby. "I am going through a transition in life where earning money from home is my best option right now," she says. "I'm recently single again (this is a good thing), I'm caring for my disabled mother, raising a ten-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter, so I'm needed at home a lot." In her young adult days she travelled to the coats and tropic regions - and even did a little modeling in the 80's. "I always seemed to have more satisfaction drawing the other models rather than being one of them," she says. Etsy has been a fantastic opportunity for her. "I love this place," she says of the community of buyers and sellers. "There are so many nice people here." She, too, likes handmade products and spends a lot of time on Etsy browsing and shopping. "My biggest flaw is being lazy about doing things on the computer, so I haven't updated (anything) in quite a while," she admits. She'd like to pass on some sage advice she received from another Etsian: "'Be true to yourself, do what you do best, and the rest will follow.' I can't remember that those were her exact words, but at the time, I was not being true to myself. When I took that advice, life began to be good again," she says. Please check out her shop: http://kself.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/