We have officially entered the part of the year that I struggle with the most. Every year I dread the holidays, for both rational and irrational reasons. It bothers me that Thanksgiving and Christmas have been reduced to nothing more than reasons to spend money. I don’t like Christmas music, and I hate going to the store from November to January because I know I will be accosted by Mariah Carey’s harpy voice massacring some Christmas standard or another. Everywhere I go I’m bombarded with commercials and images telling me to buy things for people that they don’t need. I’m okay with being called a Grinch, though I’m certain it’s not me that’s gotten the message wrong about what the holidays mean.
I also get frustrated with tradition and doing something just because tradition dictates it. I like to change things up. I don’t want to eat turkey every Thanksgiving or ham every Christmas. I don’t even like turkey. I don’t see anything wrong with having a big carnitas feast on Thanksgiving or Chinese food on Christmas. I was taught that the purpose of the holidays is to be thankful for all that we have in this life and to show kindness to those that are less fortunate. The point was having the table full of family and friends, sharing and enjoying their company. We didn’t complain because there wasn’t the right kind of stuffing on the table or insist that only our traditions be adhered to.
In light of my darkening mood around Thanksgiving and a rapidly approaching Christmas, when a friend approached me to participate in an event called “Flood the Streets with Art” I was intrigued and inclined to participate. The general premise is this: on Black Friday artists around the world leave free pieces of art around their cities and towns as a way to promote giving as opposed to buying and commercialism.
I’m not much of an artist, but I have recently been playing with pastels and have actually created a few drawings that I’m not totally ashamed of. I thought they would be good pieces to give away. I also love photography and have a few nice scenery shots that someone might like. I was very excited for Black Friday.
As luck would have it, I ended up being very sick the week of Thanksgiving, so I wasn’t able to spend as much time prepping my art gifts as I wanted to, but I did get out of the house and left them at my local Starbucks. They were very basic, not framed like I had wanted, but they were still nice pieces. I left a little note on each one explaining that it was free and why we were doing this. I also left a hashtag and website so the finders could check in if they wanted and I could see that someone picked them up. Even if I didn’t get a check in, I was thrilled with the idea of my art going to live with a total stranger!
The person that found my pastel drawing took a picture of it and posted it on Instagram with the hashtag I gave so I was able to find it. It was exhilarating – someone liked my picture enough to take it home with them!
The absolute best part of participating in this event was watching social media as the check in’s started rolling in. People that found the art often shared heartwarming stories about how they found someone’s owl ornaments and owls were their favorite animal or a little girl that was so excited to find a painting that she insisted on going home to make some bracelets so she could go out and leave them for someone. There were many stories where the finders were inspired to go home and create something to give away, and that really touched my heart.
That is the lesson I want being taught about the holidays. When it was all said and done, over 7,000 artists participated and dropped over 16,000 pieces of art in ten countries around the world! My favorite stories were the ones where people serendipitously found the perfect piece of art for their home. It was awesome to be part of something bringing joy to people all over the world.
I was so excited about this event that I decided I am going to drop art around town throughout the year, just because. And next year my kids are going to help – they’re already thinking of things they can create and share. This is a tradition I can stand behind! I’m finding the holidays a little easier to deal with because I am planning on doing things that go against commercialism and promote values that I think are important. It’s amazing how dramatically things can change when we change our perspective!
