Zazzle Blog

On February 8^th, an amazing friend and Zazzler, Barbara Klocke (klocke) passed away. The community has lost a dear friend and an amazing artist, but her friends and her family will continue to remember her and her art for years to come.

Zazzle Seller and good friend of Barbara, Ruth Jamieson (ruthjjamieson) wrote a blog post about her friend that we’d like to share as well. Here’s what Ruth shared about Barbara.

I first met Barbara, whom I now call Sunshine, on March 22, 2007, in my first days as a Gallery owner at Zazzle.com. She was my third fan!

We became friends and cheerleaders to each other. As I slogged through the learning process of setting up the Gallery, learning posting protocols, Zazzle etiquette, etc, Barb always cheered me on, and encouraged me.

Barb was insightful, tremendously funny, and caring and giving to others. Her fans and friends spanned all age groups, art styles and genres. She was a delightful woman who saw the divine in all and in everyone she knew.

When not creating, Barbara spent time with her family and friends, read, gardened, knit and crocheted and practiced the healing practice of Qigong.

I had the honor of interviewing her in 2009 for my blog. I’d like to share that interview with you now.

Barb, how did you come to be an artist?

Art has always been a part of my life. It has always been a source of joy and expression for me. Having others enjoy my work is the highest form of success for me. I suppose that my love of art began with my first coloring book. I decided that I wanted to be an artist at a young age. I was fortunate enough to have an artist neighbor as a child. I would visit her often and ask her what I needed to do to become an artist and then I taught myself how to do it.

And what media do you work in?

I used to work in oils, but now I work in acrylic and sometimes watercolor. I work on canvas or paper, but I worked extensively on rocks for some time. Recently I began experimenting with colored pencils. Over the years, I entered numerous art shows, both amateur and Juried. My work was accepted for shows in Sofia, Bulgaria and Athens, Greece. The prestigious Clossens in Cincinnati, featured my rock art for six months. The Cincinnati Enquirer, Tempo-art section, featured two articles about my Rock art. I also appeared on a local TV show with some of my rock art. My Granddaughter was permitted to go on with me, so that was great fun!

Two local Cincinnati galleries featured my work for several years.

Has your work changed over the years?

I paint a wide variety of subject matter, including wildlife and floral. A number of years ago though, I began researching the Native American culture in an effort to learn more about my own heritage. As a result I painted many Native American inspired paintings as a tribute to that Culture.

What motivates you to create?

I see the expression of God’s love all around me, in Nature, Animals and people. I suppose that is my main motivation, to try and capture some of that beauty and love. The Native American art is more spiritual in nature, and many of those paintings came to me in dreams. To Native Americans, nurturing one’s Spiritual side is as important as nurturing the physical side. They feel that true happiness can only be found by having balance between the two.

GOOD BYE DEAR FRIEND, YOU ARE REMEMBERED WITH LOVE.

Our deepest sympathy and love to all her family and friends.  Please visit Barbara’s Zazzle store to see all of her beautiful creations.

This entry was posted on February 23, 2011 at 1:39 pm and is filed under General News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.