Happy news! Artists and the people who love them meet at last, on mutual ground. No more stark, unfriendly gallery spaces where some intern behind the front desk refuses to acknowledge your arrival. No more standing around at openings with a plastic cup of lousy wine in one hand and a gussied-up Ritz cracker in the other, hoping for a chance to speak with the artist. No more stratospheric prices that make you feel like a dwarf star in the vast art world universe. Really? Really!

Now you can go to Etsy.com and meet artists from all over the world. Each artist has their own gallery/selling space where they show their marvelous works for a mere 20¢ per piece, per four-month period. When a work of art sells, Etsy takes a 3.5% cut—a big savings over the typical gallery’s 50% commission. Etsy is an artist-friendly, art-lover-friendly environment. The site makes it easy for you to read artist bios, cull through their work, and even contact the artist with your questions and compliments. (Chances are the artist will get back to you the same day with a very friendly and helpful answer.)

And the prices? Affordable! Giglee prints typically run $35 – $50. Original works are mostly in the range of $150 – $750. I have found amazing photographers, print makers, canvas painters, sculptors, mixed media artists, digital artists and crafts people on the site. Etsy, with its home office in Red Hook, Brooklyn, has created an online artists’ bazaar and global community that is available to all income levels and taste. Etsy is a prime example of how the Internet can operate as a mechanism of free exchange. It works against the separation of artist from his or her community, making art available and affordable in ways that couldn’t have been imagined 10 years ago. Artists no longer need a gallery or dealer to validate their work. With Etsy, artists have an opportunity to augment their income or even make a living through the sale of their art. What greater gift could be given to an artist?

To see an interview with Etsy’s founder, Rob Kalin, visit TechCrunch.com

Artwork: Westlake Pink Two (giclée print) by Leah Giberson