About

Hello Beautiful Soul,
I'm Gretchen, the Artist behind Orange Sky Creations. I've been an artist & photographer for pretty much my entire life. My inspiration to work with pastels began at the School of Art & Design at Alfred University in 1995. Initially inspiration came from natural surroundings and a bowl of Grandma's antique buttons. As a photography student in the 90's the technical nature of process & timing for film & darkroom chemistry felt suffocating at times. This led me to work with pastels in a non-traditional manner that has always felt very improvisational. I choose not to title my work in a tangible fashion, allowing you to see whatever you want to see in the art. In my 20's I was focused on these one of a kind abstract pastel drawings. I held many shows & traveled for arts festivals around the Northeast. These one of a kind, original drawings are collected internationally, if you're lucky enough to own one, I'd welcome seeing the piece(s) again if you'd like to email me a picture of what you have. 

Just be. Just see. Just feel. Allow the art to speak to you....

In my late twenties - early thirties, my dear husband & I had three children. At this time in our life my energy-focus adjusted to be on them & my photography once again. With the evolution of photography & the digital age I built a successful wedding & portrait photography business. Fast forward...

My family loves to go on long road trips full of adventure, hiking, biking, sunset chasing... In my late thirties I found yoga, a way for me to build the strength necessary to keep up with my family on the trails of the Adirondack High Peaks.  At first yoga was just that - a work out to build strength. My original yoga teacher would say "Trust the Process..." At first I had no idea what that meant. But, I'd leave class feeling physically challenged, holding new energy, feeling mentally lighter & ultimately more blissful. If you have your own yoga practice, I imagine you can relate to the feelings I describe. I was told "just keep showing up..." I did just that. I continue to evolve my personal practice with new found inspirations. My yoga practice often has me saying:

"All I want to do is make art and do yoga!"

In 2017, I launched my first Etsy site selling pastel drawings for the first time in about 10 years. I never stopped making art, but for a time I would only create for special occasions or for people who I know love & appreciate my free flowing art.  Soon after the Etsy site was launched, I dabbled with ideas of making functional art or reproducing my creations in ways that I'd never before dreamed of. I continued making & producing a fairly large volume of original drawings throughout the year. 

The concept of reproducing my art onto yoga pants came alive while attending a yoga festival in Rochester in the fall of 2017. This festival was a day of soul searching on my mat, in my sketchbook, meditating through movement, improvising with dance & connecting like minded souls. Stories were told, tears were shed & the next level of Orange Sky Creations was conceived. This is where passions merge!

Sometimes the sky is orange...

xoxo,

Gretchen