About

At this site, you’ll find mixed media art, including art journaling, art collages, mixed media art, fabric art, decor, and – in general – living a creative life.

I’m Aisling D’Art, and this website – Aisling.net – has been online since… well, practically forever.

(And yes, if you’re at Facebook and in the Star Trek community, I am a real person with a real-life connection to the original cast and crew… thanks to Bjo, back in the days when she and her husband had part of the TV set stored in her garage.)

History

This site started in the 1990s at GeoCities’ Soho community, back in the Stone Age of the ye olde Interwebs.

My earliest online works were paintings of sunrises, and my torn-paper collages. Then, I added art journaling, art dolls, assemblages, art shrines, artistamps, and…

Okay, you get the idea.

When Yahoo!Groups existed, I was the founder of the Wild Art Dolls community, as well as a moderator of ArtistsJournals (AJ) and founder of ArtistsJournals2 (AJ2).

Since then, I’ve posted hundreds of articles and examples of handmade and homemade art. Most include how-to ideas with some examples.

You may have seen my art – and articles – in Somerset Studio’s magazines, in Family Circle, Lady’s Circle, Professional Quilter, and even in Romantic Times magazines.

All of my articles are about making art and living an authentic, creative life.

And now, some changes

In 2020, I decided to reorganize this site and relaunch it. But, even with others’ help, it seemed too daunting. So, I put it to one side.

And there… Well, it just sat.

Now, juggling various projects, I’m finally updating a bunch of my art-related articles and adding graphics you can actually see, even on a phone.

I’m also integrating articles from ArtistsJournals.com and from my old Wild Art Dolls Yahoo!Group (and my past, related websites).

And, in some cases, I’m putting them into books, with lots of added tips and ideas.

Meanwhile, for over two decades, this current site has been my main digital “home.”

I hope you’ll enjoy it, too.

And now… the backstory!

The following is for those who really want to know who I am and what I was doing before the Internet happened. All of this is very personal and subjective.

It started in California…

I was married to a tall, funny, handsome farmer. (Yes, really. As a kid, I’d always dreamed of marrying a farmer and having six children.)

We had two wonderful daughters, about three years apart. This is a long-ago photo of one of them, reading a book. (She’s still an avid reader.)

Along the way, I learned to make quilts, and started self-publishing art-related books.

I also sent out a free newsletter, called “Creating!” (Today, I’d probably call it a zine.) I also sent out free artcards (postcards with my art on them) and other mailart.

Those connections led to teaching gigs, book contracts, and being featured in magazines.

I self-published a few books, and they did well, too.

Then – in addition – I started freelance illustrating for local print shops and publishers… and did pretty well.

My newsletter, “Creating!”,  continued (free), along with my illustrating gigs, and I self-published even more books. (Yaayy for income!)

And – having a LOT of fun with all of this – I launched more businesses:

• Quiltz—I started this business by making one-of-a-kind baby quilts and selling them at a few local shops. Soon, my quilts were selling in about a dozen high-end gift shops along coastal Maine and then in Boston. So, though I continued selecting the fabrics and designing the quilts, I hired stay-at-home moms to sew for me.
• “Neat Stuff” was a mail-order catalogue I created, illustrated by hand, and sent to anyone who seemed interested. It was actually a drop-shipping business. (I found cool,  handmade products and made deals with the creators. They filled orders that I provided to them, and we split the profits. Everyone was happy.)
• Past Perfect Clothing – This was a custom-made clothing line featuring vintage-style fashions. Again, I selected the fabrics and hired work-at-home friends to sew the clothing. It was strictly mail-order. (We used modified “Folkwear” patterns, among other designs.)

Within a few months, my income was stable and growing nicely.  We moved to my hometown of Belmont, Massachusetts, where I added a few more businesses:

• Store displays – I became a “picker,” buying vintage and antique items, and reselling them to local stores. They’d use them in their window displays and sometimes throughout the store as accent pieces.
• Vintage quilts – I ran ads in local papers, offering to pay up to $35 for old quilts in any condition. Plenty were available, and I resold them, at a profit, through stores and auction houses.
• Vintage clothing – The same attics that contained vintage quilts often had old clothing items in trunks, as well. I bought and resold them, and – along with my “Past Perfect Clothing” experience – that led to a book contract for Sewing and Collecting Vintage Fashions.
• Closet sachets – Cute, handmade calico bears filled with moth-repelling herbs. Easy to make, I sold them (wholesale) to clothing stores and yarn shops.

That’s when I also started editing books, theses, etc., for MIT professors and grad students. (I loved it. Really, I can be SUCH a geek… lol!)

I know that it sounds like I had a lot going on – and I did – but I’m an organizing fanatic. As long as I kept hiring more people, and sending out more newsletters, catalogues, and mailart, my businesses kept growing, too.

Frankly, it was fun. You know that song, “Whistle While You Work“?  Well, that’s how I am. I’m not sure there was ever a time when I drew a line between “work” and “play.” I truly loved it all!

Along the way, life threw a few hurdles in my path, including a surprise divorce. After that, some of my business decisions were better than others. One of the worst – in my opinion – was not continuing to send out freebies, and maintaining connections with fellow artists and creatives.

Eventually, I met the man of my dreams. And, two decades later, we’re still a ridiculously happy couple. Whew!

He supports me in everything I do. We laugh daily, hug a lot, and never run out of things to talk about. (I hope that inspires others still looking for their “happily ever after.”)

Now, as I’m writing this near the conclusion of 2025, we’re facing some challenges – on many levels – in the United States. We may choose to move abroad, and we’ll both need careers we can take with us, preferably without major interruptions.

Recently, I’ve started paying attention to another friend’s successes… and advice. His business was based on business practices almost identical to mine, when I was at my peak.

The difference was: He kept doing the things that – in my previous marriage – I’d let slip through the cracks.

Recently, I’ve been journaling about this, and realized that I need to get back to doing what worked so reliably in the past. Even if it seems illogical to most people.

That’s why my current plans include making some of my creative projects free, including both as digital and art-in-the-mail treats.

Though some may raise an eyebrow and wonder why I think sending out freebies is so helpful… Well, as I’ve said, I believe that it was an important part of what succeeded in the past.

That’s always led to some amazing (and often quirky), mutually beneficial connections: Ways that we could help each other.

In addition, I’m evaluating social media options (to see what’s the best match for me) and what “sparkles,” among my many projects.

If you’d like to join the fun, email me at artfun@aisling.net and tell me your mailing address. (It’s just for freebies – no strings attached, and I won’t share your address with anyone else.)

So… let’s play!

About my name…

I launched this site as “Aisling D’Art” because – in the early days of the Internet -not many women were online. The smart ones didn’t use their real names.

“Aisling” is a family name, and has significance in Irish history. The D’Art surname gave me a sense of privacy.

Later, I realized “Aisling D’Art” suited me, so I adopted it for workshops, etc., too. If you see me in real life and call out, “Hey, Aisling!” I’ll probably answer. I’m that accustomed to the name now.

However, in real life, a lot of people know me as Eileen, or – using the Irish spelling –  Eibhlin. (It’s said different ways in different parts of Ireland, but many will say it sort of like “Eifflin.”)

And, to be honest, I answer to almost anything said in my direction, as long as it’s nice, happy, and fun.

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