What is a gift?

    Okay, so I want to paint 'gifts'. I have some hard and fast rules when it comes to gift giving. I just can't always remember them. So, in no particular order:

1. A gift should never be a burden. Meaning that it should fit smoothly into the recipient's life. A surprise puppy, for example, is not the best idea.

2. A gift should never be more about the giver than the recipient. No, 'Look at me, I am so generous/talented/blah blah blah.'

3. A gift should be specific and personal to the person you are giving it too. No gift cards (well sometimes), no re-gifts, no 'this kind of works'.

4. A gift should be something the giver themselves value. This is just for personal gratification. I hate giving gifts that don't excite me.

There may be more rules. I don't remember them all, all of the time. And I love giving presents. I love giving the perfect gift. This last falls a little close to rule #2, as it involves my pride, but it also spreads over into #3, and the joy of just getting it right. I always want to make the gift-ee happy.

So,  by this criteria I am unable to paint generic gifts for an audience that I have never met. Ergo, I shall have to paint specific ones.

Another list:

1. Gifts don't have to be physical things. Gifts can be time, in its many forms.

2. I too receive and value gifts. I could draw on my favorites for inspiration.

3. Gifts have to do with people and hands. They are about a human connection, making things, and reaching out.


Mostly, I just need to stop fussing and start painting. Time to suck it up and make mistakes :)

 

So little time...

  We all feel the crunch of time. It is slippery and hard to hold. Sometime I get so overwhelmed by all of the things that I want to read and make and do and see that I almost despair, for I know that no matter how long I live, I will never have enough time. And behind that panic, once I calm down, I find this kind of beautiful. There is so much potential, so much worth exploring. I love this world most days. I think that I may even like the majority of people in it. Ha.

  But right now I have a problem. I have a show coming up in December. I should be producing work for it right now. And I can't. My mind is as blank as my canvases.

  I partially know what I want this show to be: small to medium sized canvases that are reasonably priced and convenient to hang in a home. I think that it is important to be aware of one's audience, something that the art world is often arrogant or defiant about. I digress.

  I want them to be framed, finished looking works. I want them to be gifts. I want to make a show of Christmas gifts. Things that are pretty and comforting and warm, but have a depth to them. Now what the hell does that mean? What does that look like? Sigh. I have no idea and I am slowly running out of time.