Charitable Donations

I am often approached to donate my art to local charities.  Generally I am happy to do this as I see it as a way of supporting causes that are important to me and giving back to my community.  But I also have misgivings.  These misgivings stem from a growing concern that my charitable giving is helping add to the devaluation of artists' work.  Particularly since more and more organizations seem to be turning to art auctions and more and people seem to think that this is the best way to buy their art.

To be clear, in a community, participating or not participating in a charity auction is not so much an option for many artists as it is a responsibility.  We participate because as artists we are generally (and I do mean generally) more attuned to community needs given that many of us work to explore and express these ideas in our work. The challenge is that there are so many charities and the difference between an artist donating and other businesses is that the work we offer is generally one of a kind and original work.  It is not mass-produced and therefore not just one of many items we have purchased at wholesale prices that we can easily replace.  It represents a true investment of time, creative thought and materials.  Therefore when an artist donates their original work, they aren't just donating an auction item, they are truly donating their time.   This is the time that they take from their business.  How many other businesses can afford to donate so much time without being compensated? And, by charities raising their money more and more through art auctions are we furthering the notion of art as a give away commodity therefore devaluing the time that artists have invested?

It has been said that life is what happens when you are planning other things.  Never has there been a truer statement for me than these past few months. 

I have been juried into a number of shows and have been very busy preparing for them.  But, in the midst of preparing for these, family illness and parental responsibility have conspired to test my wife's and my stress levels along with our time management skills. We feel like we have been traveling at warp speed accelerating through one problem or another.  As things begin to settle I find myself reflecting on the challenges of being an artist and entrepreneur and balancing other needs.

Why post this here?  Because this is my life and my art comes from my reflections upon these things.  I had always felt that in as much as this is my artist's blog, that it should be about more than painting and sculpting and should perhaps offer some insight into the distinction of what is an artist.  You may read this blog and say he is no different than me, or this is just what I would have expected or even, marvel at the crazy eccentricities of the life of an artist.  All or none of this may be true for you.

To me artist is more about an aspect of me than my whole identity.  It would be safer to say that I am me and artist is one of many portals through which I express my inner self to the outside world.  And through that expression I look for connection and common ground.

If you want to see these expressions.  The next opportunity will be July 5, 6 and 7th at the Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition.

Elasticity of thought

It is a strange thing to talk to technology after you have shuttered it away for 4 weeks.  The past 4 weeks have been a wonderful break from cell phones, internet, emails and telephones.  The only technology that I allowed myself was my camera.

It was not an intentional retreat from technology, but a focused effort on being in the here and now, as I explored new directions in a fabulous photo workshop with +Trina Koster in Cuba, and spent some quality family time on vacation after. 

As I reflect on the past 4 weeks, I am reminded that the mind is an elastic thing that looses its flexibility if stretched too long in one direction without break. I am feeling more flexible and am anxious to reengage my works in progress at the studio.