Featured Artisan: Breezy Artwork ~ Anna Kay Creations

How did you start creating your artwork, and how long have you been doing it?
I’ve been doing it since I was eight, creating my own little pieces of jewelry to wear and coming up with my own unique style. I’ve loved to draw and paint since I can remember, I’ve been taking photos since I was 10, writing, dramatic arts and music have always been a huge passion of mine as well.

My husband tells me I’m something of a “Swiss Army Knife” of Art, haha. I really love to do anything that requires some creative attention.

Recently I’ve opened up my own little shop on Etsy to sell some of my pieces, after much encouragement from family and friends. It’s been a joy to have an outlet to do what I love and share it with others.

Facebook has also been something of a scrapbook for me to share my work as well. I love getting feedback about the art that I display, whether paintings, photos, jewelry or music, it’s important to me to know how it affects others, and helps to inspire more of my work.

Source

December 24th, 2010, my husband and I were in a terrible accident. It took them over 45 minutes to get to us, and I had a hematoma behind one of my eyes, bleeding in my brain. So I was unresponsive by the time they got me to the hospital and was sent into a 5hr long emergency brain surgery. There was little hope from what I understand, and if I did pull through they didn't expect much of a recovery, bed-ridden, extensive brain damage... etc. But I stunned doctors and nurses as my recovery was incredible.

They called me the "Christmas Miracle" and people were excited to meet me in later visits, took pictures with me at the rehab center. It was amazing. I really didn't understand the extent of my injuries and the odds I had gone against until I learned more later, and met people with less extensive injuries doing so much more poorly than I.

It has been hard to understand, only that I am alive, and I need to celebrate that by doing the most I can with the abilities I have, that should have been taken away that night.

I hadn't been able to work because I still had some pretty severe headaches and other issues that I was healing from, so I poured everything I had into my art.

When we withstood the F5 Tornado in Joplin last year (May 2011) it was all the more impressive to me that life is so valuable, so fragile, and it can go so quickly. Make the most of it, share what you have, and never take it for granted.

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Where do you get your inspiration from?

Dreams, the beautiful nature around me, life stories, pain, joy… experience. Everything, if I look hard enough, is full of potential for artwork.

I am an incredibly blessed woman, I’ve been given eyes, hands and a voice to work with, and a wonderful husband who encourages me to use them.

I look forward to any opportunity to use what I have to encourage, comfort and inspire others.

We’ve all learned in one way or another, life is not easy, and everyone handles their difficulties differently. I choose to pull everything I know and funnel it into my art, and hope that it helps someone else the way it has helped me.

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Is there anything else you would like to share?

We have been trying to raise money recently for an orphanage/school in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. There are great people working out there that are stretched super thin reaching out to the children in that area, providing them with safe homes and an education. They live off the donations made to their ministry organization, so a lot of what I make goes toward the mission there.

Donations and/or purchases are greatly appreciated. To learn more about their organization you can go to their website: www.wgoreach.org

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Facebook: facebook.com/breezyartwork

Twitter: @aubreyprunty
Website: breezyartwork.com