Serendipity and Emily Dickinson’s Garden

Hi friends,

It’s been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks, but it was so much fun!  We visited our daughter and s-i-l in Virginia, and the most interesting thing happened while we were there.

First, the backstory—I purchased a little piece of what I call functional art from a shop in Robertsdale six or seven years ago and just fell in love with the painting on it.  It was obviously an up-cycled small chest piece that had been hand-painted with pretty little birds and bits of green stems with leaves, and the birds were outlined in black.  I just loved everything about this little piece.  And I’m always a sucker for anything that can be used as a storage place for other little treasures, so it went home with me.  I wondered who had painted it, as I was unable to find a signature on it anywhere.  I assumed that it was a local artist.

 

Details of the first “Chris” piece…

As time went on, I grew more curious about who the artist was and I started thinking it strange that I hadn’t run across any local artists who had similar work for sale at any of the shows and events in Baldwin County, so I went to Google.  I searched off and on for several months.  Since I didn’t have any information really to go on, I just used a variety of keywords that described the piece.  One day, the stars aligned and I found an artist I thought could possibly be the one—her style looked similar.  I still wasn’t completely sure, as her style has changed some over the years, which happens with every artist, but I was hopeful, and I clicked on the image.  It took me to Chris Jeanguenat.  I found her on Facebook where she had shared a link to her art page, Wanderlust and Art.  I went to that page and started looking through the hundreds of images she had posted.  I knew that I would need to go back in her posts at least six or seven years to find the piece I had *if* she had even shared it.  I couldn’t believe it when I found it!  I finally knew who had painted my little chest.  So, I started following Chris and we became “Facebook friends.”

Another little tidbit that blew my mind was that she lives in Suffolk, Virginia!  Our daughter lives in Suffolk!  How’s that for serendipity?  Out of this whole big world, she’s right around the corner from our daughter.

We had planned a trip to go visit daughter, Autumn, and her hubby, Corey, in September on the train, and I really wanted to find another piece of artwork by Chris to bring home with me.  After following her now for several years, I had picked out a piece from one of her latest posts that I really wanted and I had privately asked her the size and price.  I also knew that Chris was very busy, painting like crazy trying to get ready for a jam-packed fall art show season, so I didn’t want to bother her while we were there.  Autumn and I were planning a day out to shop and I just figured I’d find the local places where she exhibits her work and crossed my fingers in hopes that the piece I loved would be in one of the places.  When I went to her page to find the galleries, I could only find one, so I decided to just send Chris a quick message asking the name of the other place.  She answered me back with the names of the two places, and also invited us to come to her house to shop!  I almost fainted.  Autumn and I were so excited (Yes, I had already shared her accounts with Autumn and she loves her art too!) and could hardly wait for the next day!

Y’all, Chris is the sweetest!  She came running out down the sidewalk to welcome us, literally with open arms.  Her house was filled with artwork that she is getting ready to take with her to the shows, so it was the most fun private shopping experience ever!  I asked her about the piece I was dreaming of, and she took me to her kitchen where it was hanging.  It took me about 30 seconds to decide that this was indeed the one that needed to come home with me.  We had the best visit with her, and I now feel as though my Facebook friend, Chris Jeanguenat, is now my real life friend.  

Autumn and Chris

Me, the painting, and Chris

I already knew the size so I knew it would fit on the train with me, and I found the ideal safe place for it to travel!  That’s the belt that holds the curtain back out of the way when the room is not occupied.  It couldn’t have worked out any better!

If you love fun, colorful, whimsical art and the color black, go visit Chris online and follow her to see all of the fabulous artwork she’s creating.  If you see something you love, she can package it up and ship it to you.  Or, better yet, go see her at one of the upcoming shows!  Her work is also available online as prints and other fun things at Fine Art America.  

Follow her on Facebook Here.

Chris calls herself an “illustrator” and the piece I now own was inspired by Emily Dickinson’s garden—a hand with flowers and a butterfly.  It’s perfect for my studio with my antique lace clothing, gothic arches and black walls.  It’s many of the things I love all wrapped up in one gorgeous painting.

I just love it when things come together in unexpected ways and we end up with a beautiful story to tell.