In my first marriage there was a lot of “that’s not allowed”. I had ideas, hopes and dreams squished in that not allowed-ness those eighteen years. One of those ideas was to own a dog. Nope – not allowed.  I finally brought that dream to reality last year! Second husband didn’t want a dog either, his reasons were even wierder than the first guy. Don’t get me started.

Another dream was to collect original art. Part of why I wanted to do that was the artist in me. I am in awe of other’s work. I wanted to someday be surrounded by the art of others. The other reason is to support those who have a body of work for sale. It’s important to me. If I was an actual artist I’d want my pieces sold to those who care about them. I don’t have a huge collection,  but I do have quite a few pieces that speak to me in a very special way and enough to have it be part of the decor of my home.

I have always wanted to document the collection.

This is one of my newest additions. It’s voice is all about the cup and the color – it’s green – ness is just awesome! It’s an oil painting by South African Artist Thea Burger. I am embarrassed to say that I know I met Thea through blogging, and yet I can’t exactly remember how now. Silly me.  Blogging takes you in these odd directions sometimes and I remember stumbling upon Thea’s work, letting her know how I appreciated it and then visiting her work from time to time.  This post tells a little bit about her, and I truly love the clock on her blog that lets us know what time it is in South Africa.

Hi Thea! Thank you so much for my beautiful painting.

I find her paintings wonderfully bold, richly colored and I adore how she zero’s in on the subject. She paints portraits, fruit, flowers and objects, I was especially drawn to her whimsical and signature tea cups.  I really wanted the 3 cups nestled but it wasn’t in my price range at the time. She also frames her pieces in vintage frames or worn frames that I think looks really cool. Adds additional distinction to her work.

Why tea cups? My first mother in law has a pretty amazing tea cup collection. Two curio cabinets full amazing. I visited those tea cups for many, many years and changed my mind a zillion times about which was my favorite! She gave me 2 of my own over the years, and while my collection isn’t nearly as impressive as hers, it’s also something that makes me rather happy.

This cup below I bought when I moved to the home I live in now as a new home gift.  I have moved alot and each time I do, a small decor gift is purchased.  All of my tea cups sit on one shelf and Thea’s painting hangs to the side of it. It’s an arty addendum to the collection.

Lefton China. A collectable, although not something of great value, hand painted and detailed in gold.

<sup>Karen Hanrahan ~ Wellness Educator/Nutritional Consultant/Blog Author
708.482.0678 ~ Websites: Nutrition, Weight Loss, and Green Clean as seen on Oprah

Member of BNI – West Suburban BNI: “Chapter Mentor”
Member, Board Member and Programming Chair of West Suburban Women Entrepreneurs</sup>