Meet the Artist Freehand Greetings,LLC is created out of Patricia's long-time hobby of freehand drawing, photography, and creative writing. Patricia is a native of Florida, reared under the guardianship of loving grandparents in the backdrop of what she describes as a dirt farm. She saw the world through books and desired to be able to express her own feelings and experiences by means of the eternal written page. She found unique sentiments in hot summer days and hummingbirds, sugar-beads on meringue pie, snake trails in white sand roads and often thought about ways to express the way she felt when considering such things. The years following her high school graduation led to her marriage and mothering of five children. Her pool of emotions grew with each experience and nourished the flame of writers’ passion she held. Upon returning to Florida after 25 years, she felt compelled to keep her family connected. She prepared a calendar and applied each family member’s birthday on the calendar as if it were a holiday. Each holiday warranted a hand-crafted card from Patricia. By the next year, she had a small inventory of special cards, and the attention of good friends who desired specially drawn cards themselves. Thus began her business venture. Greeting cards have always been one of the favorite exchanges Patricia enjoys giving and receiving. She diligently attends to keeping all the ones she has ever received. The countless array of cards already in the market place— from humorous, nonsense cards to those portraying heart-felt, deeply sensitive subject matter— occupy a place of dignity and respect in this artist’s mind. “They are all very different and yet quite similar,” she says. “I enjoy them all, but they are not mine. Freehand Greetings™ is my contribution to the art class.”

The Trademark Her trademark, which is a drawing of her hand holding a pencil in a box frame, was the first step in making her mark in the social expressions gallery. She explains her trademark— the hand in the frame. “Life is framed in moments of creativity, accomplishments, dreams, and ability. All that we do is in a continuous flow of activity. We freeze-frame these moments of our lives and build memories. Some pictures are framed by their own boundaries, you simply know when the picture ends, but then there are those pieces of art which must be segmented from all other distractions to allow you to focus on that particular moment--thus the frame. The frame is the power that eternalizes that moment, the hand is the instrument that forms it. “ Many satisfied customers agree that there is no gift more special than a hand-crafted, specially drawn card, from Patricia with words that personify deeply hidden, often never expressed feelings.

My First Card in the "Nappy Birthday" Line One day while visiting my niece, I experienced this special moment where the older sister was combing her sister's hair. I felt the stroke of the comb and the brush of the hand across the rippling locks of the little girl's hair. We do this everyday, I thought, who ever stops and look at the beauty of it. I then went to work and drew up the first in my series of “Nappy Birthday “ cards. Go to the Photo Album Freehand Greetings Gallery to view pictures of various cards available. For more information about Freehand Greetings, LLC,you may email me at pfreehand@bellsouth.net or write me at Freehand Greetings, LLC, P.O. Box 406, Clarcona, FL 32710-0406.