Art lives in context with the culture it came from, until the years pass and sometimes, it gets lost. When that happens, it ends up an overlooked item in somebody's house, in a thrift store, an estate sale or auction - if it's lucky. If it isn't lucky, the trash bin is the final destination. 

Though I haven't found "the big piece" yet, my Etsy store, Cristina Acosta Design, is full of small treasures I've found along the way. 

I have several quests in my life, one of which is to find a great art treasure, return it to it's cultural place and make significant money in the process. It's a treasure hunt. And like many treasure hunts, it's a quixotic, mysterious, intuitive journey with good luck and not-so-much luck threading the path. 

My late father loved old books and adventure stories. Robert Louis Stevenson's two books circa 1886, Kidnapped and Treasure Island were on the pile of books he chose for the nightly reading ritual. He often read these stories to the family when I was very young. By the time I could read them myself, I did, several times. 

I grew up on the Southern California coast in Los Angeles County. The beach was across the street from my grandmother's house. With stories of treasure and adventure filling my dreams, I expected to find gold doubloons from a ancient Spanish Galleon washed up in the wet, sandy margin of beach where the foam and the sand briefly met. 

I don't go through life with my head down, looking for treasure. I'm confident that it comes to me when the time is right. I'm sure the items I find will be fascinating. And finding the "big one" is still a quest.

It will happen; mis-placed art, ships' treasure, maybe a lost painting, are sure to be near. I love the treasure hunt. And, in some ways, I've already found treasure. My beautiful family and friends, adventures and mis-adventures are my treasure-trove. 

Along the way, as I've searched, I've found many odd, interesting and sometimes beautiful vintage items. My husband and I put together an Etsy store, selling things from our travels and our personal collections. Be sure to visit, Cristina Acosta Design.

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