I just got used to writing 2014 on my checks and now it’s almost over. Time flies when you’re pushing 60, and sooner than I expected it’s time for the Holiday Shop-O-Rama Extravaganza, The Studio’s annual arts sale.
This year we put a little twist on the event with a Disco-Rama after hours featuring the musical witticisms of Space Capsule.
The exhibition and sale, as always, is free, but the cost is a mere $5 for all the fun you’ll have at the Disco Party. Dress like you wanna — I’ll see if my parachute pants still fit.
Be there right after the Holiday Shop-O-Rama or be square!
Speaking of the sale, this year we are having the best of both worlds as far as craftspeople are concerned. Members of The Art Studio are setting up as opening night vendors for a small fee of $10 for a 6-foot space. Or they can set up for the two weeks and sell under the same conditions as exhibiting artists.
Each year new and varied artists, artisans and craftspeople bring their handmade, original work to market here at The Art Studio, where we try to showcase the best this area has to offer.
We are encouraged by recent sales of art which have gone up over the past two years. This is an indicator to us the economy is healing in Southeast Texas.
It is also encouraging to the creators that good quality work made locally has no stigma tied to it, in fact, it’s a plus. Dealing directly with the makers is a unique experience.
For the general public it is the experience of knowing the artist who made your treasure. How many times have people shown me a woven scarf, a bit of jewelry or a coffee mug and proceeded to tell me all about the artist and how they made it. (I love that sort of thing).
This is the real pride in ownership — the thing you grab if you had one pass during a house fire.
We fly in the face of a Buddhist’s noble truth: The cause of suffering is desire. Desire to create the object and desire to own the object bring about their own suffering — a dual greed. For the craftsperson it’s losing a child they raised, a favorite piece that always seemingly goes for too little. The buyer, gleeful of the new acquisition, may become possessive and guarded, maybe slightly guilty for paying so little.
I celebrate every vessel I make and am grateful for every appreciator who wants to own one of my creations. I think of the cup warming the hands of the possessor of my craft. It warms me. That they call it “my cup” fills me.