Meet Etsy Artist: BashiSquashi

Although Barbara has been an Etsy member for over a year, she has only recently opened up shop. "I wasn't ready for the commitment back then," she jokes. "Life just got a bit crazy all of a sudden, but I've been working on my quilts and other things over this time and decided now is the time. A crisis will happen now and then, but life doesn't stop." Her husband has an excellent job that allows her to quilt - and she counts herself very lucky to devote her time to something she enjoys. "Unless I make it work, though, I will have to find a paying job," she says. For the time being, she's giving it all she's got, entering shows, contests, and stitching up a storm. She finds inspiration everywhere - from a crease in the fabric to a recurring dream. "(It's) everywhere if I'm paying attention," she explains. She fell in love with Tim Burton's style while watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and hopes her own designs approach his ingenuity. "I was so surprised that so few came (to see it) and so few got it," she laments. Instead of her generation, it was the one before that was enthralled by the spectacle. Always good for a laugh, she says, "I've been making myself an artist since I was 4 years old. That's when I exclaimed to the world 'I will be an artist' and my elderly great aunt told me I should look for a wealthy husband." Even then she knew she had to follow her heart, what ever the outcome. Please check out her shop: http://bashisquashi.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/