By B.C. Manion
Most people who want to see an original artwork by Peter Max or a drawing by Theodor Geisel, also known as Dr. Seuss, would have to travel to a museum or a gallery.
Pat Nelson simply walks from one room to another in her North Hillsborough County home.
She’s been collecting interesting paintings, drawings, glass works and decorative walking canes for years.
She has pieces of Lalique and Steuben in a curio cabinet in her living room and a grouping of colorful glass tusks in the dining room.
Some pieces in her collection blend beauty and practicality. Some are dramatic. Others are whimsical.
There are glass works that are solid and strong, and others that are fragile and thin.
Every piece has its place in a collection Nelson has been amassing for the better part of a quarter of a century.
When she adds a piece, it’s for the sheer joy of it.
“My husband and I just like the colors,” Nelson said. She added, “It just makes me happy to look at them, to see the work. … Some people probably never even look at their paintings. I’m constantly enjoying my paintings every day.”
She often makes new discoveries as she gazes at the works.
In one abstract piece, for example, there’s an obscure image of a dog she didn’t notice for ages.
The art comes from a wide array of sources. Some were pieces her husband picked up for her during his travels. Others, she ordered from catalogs or she purchased at local galleries and furniture stores.
The bulk of her collection, however, came from galleries or art shows in Highlands, N.C.; Bar Harbor, Maine and Atlanta.
The cost of the items, such as glass work, started out fairly inexpensive, but now go for two to three times what she paid for them.
Price is not the deciding factor in determining whether a piece will find a place in Nelson’s home. She either likes it or she doesn’t, and she knows that in an instant.
“It’s the shape, the color,” Nelson said.
There are times, of course, when the item costs too much. In some instances, she’ll try to negotiate a better deal. In others, she’ll just walk away.
She also likes to give her place a fresh look by moving objects from room to room.
The former flight attendant said she thinks she came by her love for decorating from her aunt.
“She was all the time changing things,” Nelson said.
Her mother, on the other hand, didn’t alter much: “She bought something, it stayed there and that was it.”
Nelson doesn’t claim any expertise when it comes to collecting. Some items in her collection have gone up in value, while others haven’t.
So, when art lovers are purchasing a new item to display, Nelson offers this piece of advice: “Buy what you like. You’ve got to enjoy it, day in and day out.”