Native American Artists Hope eBayers Place Bids on Relief for Japan

What if you could buy fabulous fashion-forward jewelry, accessories and contemporary art by top artists on eBay? What if with every purchase, you were helping to make the world a better place and to give relief to people suffering elsewhere in the world? 

Well you can, thanks to the generosity of more than 30 top Native American artists and their children. Today you can bid on wonderful items in a very special auction on eBay that will help give back to our brothers and sisters in Japan, who have been touched by the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Native American Artists for Japan in conjunction with SWAIA (Southwestern Association of Indian Arts) was created by artists Raymond C.Yazzie, Darryl Dean Begay, and Lyndon Tsosie. All of the proceeds from the various eBay auctions will benefit the Red Cross, which is helping to provide relief in Japan.  SWAIA,  a non-profit organization, is handling the monetary donations and has created an account to channel money generated from the eBay auction and also monetary donations directly to the Red Cross relief efforts for Japan. SWAIA has set up an eBay account for the auction items so that the money goes directly to the disaster relief fund and not to the contributing artists or the NAAJ founders.

So, what are you waiting for?  Get shopping, and I promise you...this time you won't have buyer's remorse! Check out the Native American Artists for Japan eBay store HERE!



E-BAYWATCH

(Pirate ACEO by Lydia Velarde 2008)

No, it's not me in a red swimsuit flying down the beach in slow-mo with my floatie under my armpit (Seriously, me in a bathing suit? I always just do the favor and refrain...unless I'm in another country or at a beach where people look worse than I.),but it is me swimming through the art listings on Ebay, yet again. It's not so bad today, and I am pretty pleased with all of the items I have purchased. For the most part, I bought ACEOs (Art Card Editions and Originals), which are guilt-free and great for gifts, etc. In the process, I discovered some pretty amazing artists, who not only sell their mini-wares in cyberland, they also sell in the real world for hundreds and even thousands of dollars at brick and mortar fine art galleries throughout the country.

One of new favorite artists is Lydia Velarde of San Diego, California. As you can see in the preceding photo, Lydia celebrates whimsy in her work, with themes ranging from pirates to VW buses to sheep, which I love! It's impressive to me how she captures so much detail in a 2.5" x 3.5" gouache painting. In reading about her, I learned that she has been away from painting for a while, but is now working on all thrusters trying to regain her spot as a top artist in the San Diego area. Her full-sized paintings are lovely and are priced very reasonably for the quality of the work. Someday, it would be great to own one of her still lifes or landscapes.

In the meantime, you can visit her blog at http://artyvelarde.blogspot.com/. I also recommend going to http://www.lydiavelarde.com/ to learn about the woman behind these fabulous miniature creations.