It's that time of year again...the holidays are quickly approaching & as much as I wouldn't like to think about it, they will be here before we know it.
Soooooo....what is one to do when they have to shop for several people on a tight budget? Why not give people something hand made?
I personally believe that hand made gifts can be some of the best ones. Yeah, it can take hours of wandering around several malls before you find the perfect store bought gift for someone. But, if I know you made it with your own two hands with me in mind it just means a little bit more.
Often, I like to give a combo of something hand made mixed with one or two small store bought items I know the recipient will like. So, here are a few ideas of inexpensive handmade gifts for family and friends this holiday season.
* Knit, sew or crochet them something.
(www.ravelry.com has a lot of free patterns you can chose from too.)
* Paint them a picture.
* Make them a CD of songs that have a special meaning to the both of you, or just a simple CD of holiday music.
* Bake them something.
* Make a scrapbook or photo album filled with favorite memories you share.
* Make handmade Christmas ornaments
* Give them a bouquet of flowers you arranged yourself.
* Make them a piece of jewelry.
* Paint them a piece of pottery at a place like Color Me Mine.
I also have two married friends who rather than giving gifts, simply invite their friends over every year for a "ThanksChristNukah" party. What a lovely thing to do; invite friends over for an evening filled with good food, good wine and good company.
No matter what you give people this holiday season, remember it helps to keep a per person or an overall spending limit so that you are not in a state of shock when the bills arrive in January. Above all, remember that no matter what you give, the age old adage it true: it's the thought that counts.
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Friday, October 5, 2012
Cocktails, Canvas & Perfectionists
Tonight I attended "Cocktails & Canvases" with two of my friends at my local Foundation for the Arts. It was great fun, and it totally helped relight that creative spark in me that had been burnt out for far too long. It made me realize something about myself as an artist too though, even after drinking a glass of wine to help loosen myself up, I am still way too much of a perfectionist.
In the same amount of time it took most people to fill their entire canvas, I was still focusing on this one section of the skull I was painting, driving myself crazy cause it just didn't look right to me no matter what I did. I really wish I could just let loose & not worry so much about making the things I paint look absolutely perfect. In the end, nobody but me is going to know exactly how the object looked when I was painting it anyway.
So what's wrong with me? Is it because in all of my years being trained as an artist I was taught to paint what I see, exactly as it is? Is it because most of the people who I've encountered who know nothing about art generally don't like and/or understand abstract art? I don't know. Is it because I always fear the people who do see my artwork will judge it, even if they don't say anything about it to my face? Probably.
The irony of it is, some of my favourite artists worked in abstracts; Jackson Pollock, Lena Krassner, Pablo Picasso, Vincent VanGogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Georgia O'Keefe, Frances Bacon, and Yayoi Kusama to name a few. (OK, more than a few.) Maybe I admire them because they can let loose and paint in a manner where they paint what they feel rather than what they see. Maybe one day I will finally let my hair down & paint simply for the joy it brings me without feeling like my piece is going to be part of some juried exhibition where it's going to be viewed by tons of people & criticized to death.
In the same amount of time it took most people to fill their entire canvas, I was still focusing on this one section of the skull I was painting, driving myself crazy cause it just didn't look right to me no matter what I did. I really wish I could just let loose & not worry so much about making the things I paint look absolutely perfect. In the end, nobody but me is going to know exactly how the object looked when I was painting it anyway.
So what's wrong with me? Is it because in all of my years being trained as an artist I was taught to paint what I see, exactly as it is? Is it because most of the people who I've encountered who know nothing about art generally don't like and/or understand abstract art? I don't know. Is it because I always fear the people who do see my artwork will judge it, even if they don't say anything about it to my face? Probably.
The irony of it is, some of my favourite artists worked in abstracts; Jackson Pollock, Lena Krassner, Pablo Picasso, Vincent VanGogh, Wassily Kandinsky, Georgia O'Keefe, Frances Bacon, and Yayoi Kusama to name a few. (OK, more than a few.) Maybe I admire them because they can let loose and paint in a manner where they paint what they feel rather than what they see. Maybe one day I will finally let my hair down & paint simply for the joy it brings me without feeling like my piece is going to be part of some juried exhibition where it's going to be viewed by tons of people & criticized to death.
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