Slowly the “chair” is
progressing...
It’s
that time of year again. Have you done your Christmas Shopping?
Last
night we went to an art show and sale in the N. Kildonan area of the city. A
friend of ours is a painter and as a member of this art club, had her work on
display. It was so fun to walk the isles admiring the many paintings for sale.
The other enjoyable part was meeting people, several friends and acquaintances we
had not run across for years. It was a delightful evening.
It
is the time of year when everyone is putting their wares up for sale to take
advantage of the Christmas shopper looking for gifts. At Clifton Studios, where
I have my studio, we have an open house scheduled for November 24 & 25,
when we as artists will be selling our ceramic creations. Not only can guests
buy Christmas gifts but also wonder through the area, meeting artists in their studios
where they work. It is a fun time, meeting friends who come every year and many
new folks checking the place out.
As we walked through the display, my mind was
going, “Should I become a member of this club? After all, then I could put some
of my stuff up for sale.”
Then,
I realised that my stuff, to put it bluntly, is not “pretty enough!” I find it hard
to imagine one of my sculptures under someone’s Christmas tree! My work is
different, it’s for a gallery and they work well as a unit, they tell a story. The Christmas
shopper is looking for something different. Something fashionable, glitzy,
popular, something social media ish, and so on.
OK,
where am I going with this? I have to realise, I have a different season and a
different place for my creative work. My creations depict and describe a
journey. They have a message, a message hopefully of the reality of the
hardships and tragedies of the human condition, and that to overcoming such tragedies
is in the realm of possibility. It’s a message for after Christmas. For once
the gifts have been given, and the house is in a shambles and everyone has
left, then once again the reality of life can hit really hard. That’s where my
work comes into play.
My
challenge, is not only to continue to create more pieces but to develop a means of
communicating this to art galleries in Canada and beyond. Thank goodness, the art gallery is a
place where “pretty” is not always a necessity.
“Each one must give as he has decided in
his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
2
Cor. 9:7
Here’s how our grandson came to our house the other day.
Now, he’s “pretty”, excuse me, I mean “handsome”.
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