The Gift of Art

I originally wrote about this piece of art here. I've had this on my desk at work since then. This morning, we were registering students for our ESL (English as a Second Language) program. A young Asian woman was there, helping her mother go through the process. After her mother had finished the reading test, she and her daughter were at my desk. I matched up the mother's test score with the proper class, filled out the paperwork, and explained everything to them.

When I was finished, the young woman pointed to the canvas, asking me if I had made it. I told her I had, and she asked me about the frame. I picked it up to show her that actually there was no frame, only a canvas. She admired it so much, that I was moved to offer it to her as a gift. She was taken aback, but when she saw that I was sincere in the offer, she smilingly accepted it and thanked me profusely.

It was so gratifying to know that this thing I had created would make someone else happy. Her spontaneous admiration and pleasure assured me that she would enjoy the gift. For me, giving art can be stressful (self-induced, of course!!). In this case, though, the giving was untainted by any sense of the recipient feeling obliged to "like" the gift. She so obviously liked it, and I'm so glad I followed my impulse to give it away. It's nice to think that it has a new home!

Till next time!