I believe that art is a way to share one’s soul so that another can find healing, peace, and joy. Just as I hold people’s experiences with an open heart in my art, I hold your privacy with deep respect. This policy explains how I handle information on this site to ensure it remains a safe and welcoming space for everyone.

1. Information You Share Voluntarily

I do not maintain an automated email list or newsletter. The only personal information I receive is what you choose to share with me when you reach out via my contact email (sketchabella23@gmail.com) for an inquiry or commission. This may include:

  • Name and Email Address: So that I may respond to your questions.
  • Physical Address: Only as needed to safely ship pottery, paintings, or prints to your home.
  • Phone Number: Occasionally used for coordinating the details of a specific commission or transaction.

Data Storage & Communications

When you reach out to me, our correspondence is hosted through Google (Gmail). While I use a personal business account to stay connected, your emails are stored on Google’s secure infrastructure. By emailing me, you understand that your information is subject to Google’s standard privacy protections. I personally do not use your email content for any purpose other than our direct communication regarding my art or commissions.

2. Technical Data & “Silent” Helpers

To make sure this digital gallery is easy to find and peaceful to navigate, I use a few professional tools (plugins). These tools collect “anonymized” data—which means they see patterns, not people.

  • Analytics (Google Site Kit & Jetpack): These help me see the “big picture,” such as which countries my visitors are coming from or which portraits resonate most with the community.
  • Security & Spam (Antispam Bee): To protect the integrity of our communications, this tool checks the metadata of emails sent to me to ensure they are from genuine humans and not automated spam.
  • Site Performance (Jetpack Boost & Kadence): These ensure that high-quality images of my art load quickly and beautifully for you.
  • Site Backups (UpdraftPlus): To ensure that my artwork and our communications are never lost due to technical failure, I use UpdraftPlus to create secure backups of this website. These backups may contain copies of our email correspondence and are stored securely to be used only in the event of a site recovery.

3. How I Protect Your Data

I value your trust and am committed to protecting the information you share.

  • No Selling of Data: I will never sell or rent your information to third parties.
  • Metadata Privacy: I use specialized tools to strip location data (GPS) from the images on this site to protect the privacy of my creative process and your browsing experience.
  • Managing Preferences: You can use the CookieYes banner on this site to choose which technical “cookies” you are comfortable with at any time. If the banner is not showing, you can find it again by clicking the pink cookie in the lower-left corner of the site.

4. Third-Party Links

My site contains links to my active communities on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. When you click these links, you are visiting those platforms, which have their own privacy rules. I encourage you to look into their policies, as I do not have control over how those larger platforms handle your data.

5. International Visitors & GDPR

While my heart is currently centered in my local community, I am open to sharing my art globally. For visitors from the European Union, I comply with GDPR standards by ensuring that I only process your data when I have a legitimate reason to do so (such as fulfilling a commission you requested) and by giving you full control over your cookie preferences.

6. Children’s Privacy (COPPA)

Though I believe art is for every soul, this website is intended for a general audience and is not specifically directed at children under the age of 13. I do not knowingly collect personal information from children.

7. Contact Me

If you have any questions about how your information is handled, or if you simply wish to say hello, please reach out to me at: sketchabella23@gmail.com