An Introduction

I am an artist; have been all my life. My materials and subject matter have varied, but the base drive to create is ever present. This past year I finally allowed myself to believe I can sell my art. After much hesitation and mulling it over, I opened my very own Etsy shop.

At first I was going to call it the Glass Fox, thinking I would make painted glassware. Then I discovered I really don't enjoy painting on glass. Also, my creative adventures are many and varied, so naming the shop something that even hinted at an exclusive medium was bound to fail. I needed a more appropriate name.

For as long as I can remember I have felt the lurking, predatory tension of untreated anxiety. On bad days, I felt like a rabbit cowering under the teeth of a fox. I felt hunted, powerless, terrified. On other days, I felt like I was riding the fox; a strange, almost predatory feeling where I was aware of the sharpness of my teeth. I felt powerful, unstoppable, crazy like a fox.

The image of a confident, unbreakable rabbit, an animal entirely within the category of prey, riding with obvious glee on a fox seemed like an appropriate image for the shop. Thus, Riding the Fox was born. The logo was created while I was learning embroidery and thread painting. The original riding the fox embroidery is stitched on  an unfinished purse. I carefully scanned it onto the computer, cut out the background fabric, and a logo was born.

So, I had a name and a logo and an Etsy shop. What was I going to sell? At my day job at the Funeral Home (which is as identifiable as I'm going to be for that job) I asked a coworker if it would be considered inappropriate for a non-Catholic to make a rosary. With his assurance that it would be ok, and with an unwanted flower arrangement that was headed for the trash, my adventures with polymer clay and prayer beads was begun.

Now Riding the Fox is home to my various artistic wanderings, including polymer clay, resin, hand embroidery, small sewn items, and wherever else my imagination takes me. Every item bought from my shop keeps me riding the fox and helps me manage my anxiety.