Your shopping cart is empty!
CLOSE
Many years ago I created a clay/mixed media Native American art mask that I really loved, one of my favorite creations. I named the piece Stands Firm. I eventually sold this mask to the Heard Museum Store in Phoenix, Arizona. I was happy to sell to the museum store but sad to let the piece go. I photograph all my art creations and started playing around with a photograph of Stands Firm, thinking I should have kept Stands Firm for my own private collection. I continued to give the piece life by converting it’s image to a black/white graphic image. Someone suggested I print that image on a T-Shirt. I had the image printed on a black shirt to maintain the striking contrast. I purchased heavy weight, 100% cotton and preshrunk quality shirts and went about finding a good screen printer. I didn’t print a lot because this was only an experiment. At that time I featured my art in galleries, open studio and art exhibits and had never marketed shirts.
So here I was with a box of T-Shirts with a very good quality white screen print on a black shirt. My husband thought the shirts were great and proceeded to put one on and head for work. Later that day he came home and said he had gone to the local lumber company and had been approached by an employee who said, “That’s a awesome looking shirt.” My husband replied, “It’s my wife’s artwork.” The employee then asked if he could buy one.
That’s when I realized that I had a great looking, wearable and affordable piece of art that both native and non-native people would like. So, many years later, the image of the mask I regretted selling has continued to live on as my number one selling item especially when I am a vendor at powwows and art shows. It’s available in T-Shirt sizes S-XXXL and XL-XXXL in Long Sleeve.
