Vickie Essig 2009. From the wall of Laura’s office. Not by a professional photographer…

“I wonder, am I a collector? I don’t have a real intentionality to my collecting, so am I collecting? I buy original art. Often. But I don’t study, read art periodicals, secure the services of a gallery, I don’t travel to NYC, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, London or Rome…I stay closer to home. I buy art from the artists I know. And care about. The more I know about an artist—who they are as a person, their individual aesthetic, what their creative process is, the more pulled in I become. The work takes on a new dimension for me. It becomes personal. When I look on my office walls or walk through my home, there is not one piece that I do not remember buying, where I was, and what prompted me. I live with art—from my dishes and glasses—handcrafted and functional, to the works that cover my walls. The artists are now my friends, and their work is a constant reminder to me of what that friendship means.  So if I am a collector, my philosophy may just be to get to know the artist. They are out there, easy to meet and talk to. Buy art that speaks to you, that you want to welcome into your home and have it live with you. My art is an investment, I have spent a little and a lot, but what it really has become for me is an investment in my own creative spirit that gives me continuous pleasure. and of course, the investment you make in friendship that will now last a lifetime.”