Delanie Holton-Fessler: Art Barterer

Orange Bubble Print, Traded for handmade kid play pants

Delanie Holton-Fessler creates abstract works on paper that combine watercolor and printmaking techniques echoing the natural and urban landscape. Her work is the result of an intuitive process of layering colored washes and marks created from a brush, stencil or everyday objects like bottle caps and spools of thread.

Besides being a brilliant artist, what is particularly intriguing about Delanie Holton-Fessler is her active bartering. On her artist website she has a link to Barter in which she clearly outlines her bartering policies. Based on the principle that “people and relationships are more important than money,” her bartering wish list includes food, cloth diapers, car maintenance, painting services, eyeglasses, seeds, bedside tables, wine glasses, and…

There’s going to be a lot more bartering going on. It makes sense based on the simple fact that so many people are struggling financially. Things are falling apart, really. (My family went through a layoff last year.) Barter transactions will become increasingly common as we transition into a more heart-centered world. Barter is more than trade. It is an exchange of energy and it makes sense.

Watercolor on paper, by Delanie Holton-Fessler (from the 100 Days series)

As a mother of two, full-time elementary school art teacher working at one of the city’s poorer schools, and a highly transparent blogger for Drawing a Blank, the Denver, CO based artist is truly inspiring. During her 100 Days series, she created one amazing piece of art everyday for 100 days. This level of commitment alone is remarkable.

Current exhibition: Hooked on Colfax (3213 E. Colfax Avenue • Denver, Colorado)

WEB: http://www.delanieholton.com
BLOG: Drawing a Blank http://delanieholton.wordpress.com/
EMAIL: art@delanieholton.com

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Alyson Khan

Alyson writes and edits stuff for other people and does her best to craft words so they say the right thing and sound nice. When she is not slaving over the aesthetic flow of a sentence, you might find her in the studio slaving over the correct placement of a piece of paper in a collage. She's a meditator and an inspiration junky. It sounds cheesy, but it's true.