Meet Etsy Artist: Igziabeher

Michelle Rachels describes her home as "out here in the woods, 3 miles to the closest stop sign down a gravel road; wildlife abounds, and my only contact with the world is dial up." She jokes, "I can't even get DSL." After 25 years in the manufacturing business - 7 of which were 80 hour weeks -

she "(came) to a point in life of realizing your mortality and ask yourself what have I done with it?" A bit melancholy she explains that "back in the mid '70's I could have marketed my paintings." Although her art is now a successful business, it is also her life. Some of her work can be seen in galleries in Coeur d Alene, ID and she has also been selling on Ebay for several years under the user name artistforwildlife - although Etsy is her preference. Her favorite medium is a large scale canvas - 3'x4' or more. "It's too bad shipping is so costly," she jokes. "Music is my carrier," she says of her inspiration, "especially reggae music. I have been a rasta at heart since the mid 70's." She has traveled far and wide to exotic locales - and even lived in Iran for a year during the reign of the Shah. "I truly embrace the motto 'the world is my country, all mankind is my brethren, and to do good is my religion,' by Thomas Paine." Please check out her shop: http://igziabeher.etsy.com/

-Wendy Baylis

Dharma Designs

http://dharmadesigns.etsy.com/