Zan Asha

We are proud to present
Zan Asha
AKA (also known as)
Vagabond Creations



Zan lives in New York City, NY in the USA. She has several off line jobs. During the day Zan works with animals and is also a beekeeper (scared of that), writer, speaker and sometimes an urban farm manager. Well whatever it takes to pay the bills Zan says. Zan strives to be as organic, earth friendly, original and old fashioned as possible!



Zan has worked with art since she was a small child. She told me she can remember entering art contests when she was ten. However, her true love was in performing arts, and Zan was a theater and film major at NYU. For awhile she was working in theater, and was the director of a dance and theater company. Eventually she moved to illustrative arts and now, here she is a folk artist! Her favorite art is whimsical folk art. Art that is inspired by older times and techniques, but with a slightly more modern feel.



Zan told me her family has always encouraged her art-making, which started when she was a wee lass. She was always drawing, painting, and telling stories. She wasn’t sure that they always UNDERSTOOD what I was doing, but she always felt like she could do whatever she wanted in regards to art. Zan is lucky in that her fiance has always encouraged and helped her pursue her art career as well. She is one lucky woman, she feels!



I was interested to know about her latest project (back to those bees). She is working with beeswax to make ornaments and has several forest fox dolls that she is working on perfecting. She sells mostly on Etsy under Vagabond Creations: and off-line, via word of mouth.



Zan loves Halloween. She thinks she’s not the only one that feels there is a sort of magic and mystery to the whole season! Zan says “there is so much potential in creating dolls, and other artworks for this holiday. There is so much to love about fall, in general. The thought that this was a season of harvest can be used as allegory for art--there is much to harvest, creatively, as well”.



Most of her works are inspired by old Slavic folk art, influenced by fairy tales from her Hungarian mother. She loves old medieval carvings, as well. Zan isn’t sure why , but there seems to be something about ancient lives that has always drawn her, even when she used to do performing arts. She loved mythos, fables, and legends. Something about the creation of stories to teach lessons and explain the unexplainable always fascinated her.



Other then that, she says she is a pattern fiend. She loves heavy detailing in her work. Folks like Mary Engelbreit and Tasha Tudor are favorites of hers for this reason, all the little details in their work.



In keeping with her love of old things, she’s sort of an antique junkie. Zan loves collecting old (and new tea pots), aprons, old linens and old dolls. Because she is also this farmer-at-heart, she also loves anything to do with farm kitchens and implements, and because she works with bees, she likes antique beekeeper equipment, too. She said to me “Wow, I guess I have a lot of interests, huh“?



I asked Zan what info would you like to share to help other be successful in an online business .
She said she doesn’t think she is really an expert in being successful. But, she said “ I guess for me what worked is to really look at your art and try to see if you can make it as unique as possible. Does your art stand out? Is it different, interesting? Because if your art looks like so much other art, it will get lost in a HUGE shuffle of artists who also want to be successful. Really try to find a specific audience, or a feel of your art (is it fantasy? does it have a particular look? Is there a mystery or curiosity factor about it?) which will make it appealing to others. I find this helps to, at least, gain INTEREST in your work. And be sure to use all online avenues to advertise it: facebook, twitter, etc, etc.”



You can find Zan on her Vagabond Creations blog
Beyond Vagabond Blog
Etsy
Renegade Farmer Blog

Facebook



Zan is a Dreamer...just like us whose life has been a collision of art, animals and agriculture. Vagabond Creations will remind you of the sort of old-world, mysterious gifts made by some tiny hermit, living in an ancient tree hollow, in an equally ancient and forgotten magic forest.



Visit Zan and her Vagabond Creations a place for her folk art and art dolls on Etsy because we all need a bit of magic in our lives, don't you think?