Investing in the Tangible Kingdom

Inspired by the book we're currently going through, The Tangible Kingdom, today I set up an Etsy Store for a local street artist (that is, an artist living on the street) in our neighborhood. She signs her art "incinders," but her name is Cynthia.

Instead of pan-handling, Cynthia creates original, one-of-a-kind bookmark-sized original works of art and sells them on the streets of Golden Hill to passers-by. She creates her art on found scraps of cardboard, packaging, gum-wrappers and paper. Using paint, markers and pens, Cynthia's style is whimsical and expressive, belying her harsh reality of spending her days on the street.

Since moving to Golden Hill in Fall '08, I would buy Cynthia's bookmark-sized art whenever I saw her on the street. Her story, only part of which I've heard, is one of heart-break and recovering addiction. But it's also a story of hope. Inspired by her upbeat attitude and use of her talent to try and generate a meager income, I decided to share the love by setting up an Etsy store to sell some of her work online.

The Incinders Etsy store is here. For six or seven bucks (come on, that's like NOTHING for original one-of-a-kind art!), I'll include shipping. Buy more than one, and the shipping on additional items is free. 100% of your purchase goes directly to Cynthia.

— Jon