Aligning Giving with your Values
As I've been helping raise money for my friend, mentor and fellow artist, Al Martinez, I've been thinking a lot about what motivates me to give. As soon as I think of fundraising, my thoughts go to approaches á la Sally Struthers campaigns in the 1980s. Pulling the pity string. The big sad eyes. The woe-is-me type of stories. I've always hated that approach. Even selling candy bars as a little girl, I wouldn't plead or beg or look sad or even cute on demand. I didn't care if I lost a sale. I didn't want to manipulate, either the donor or the truth of my soul.
As I moved into big cities in my 20s and 30s, I encountered more and more homeless people and various types of pan handlers. I always gave to the smiling people. To the ones who held their heads high. To the ones who had more fight in them. The ones who made eye contact and revealed their honest vulnerability. They were working and doing what they could to pull their lives together while also asking for help. It became a team effort, and they didn't lose track of themselves in the process.
I, personally, don't like giving money — or anything — out of pity. I hate pity. It's my least favorite emotion. There's a power dynamic that's unnecessary. Compassion is a whole other story. I often give compassionately in that way of — it's you now, but this could be me. We're all in this together. I know how tenuous this life is. Of course I will share what I have to help you reach more stable ground.
I want to give out of strength. I want to feel strong and stable enough to help lift someone else up. I want us all to feel this way.
We give out of love, opening our hearts to a kindred soul. We give what we can — sometimes it's money and sometimes it's kindness, food, a smile, time, or any other myriads of ways we weave the web of life through honoring the value of connection and community.
I'm sharing Al's fundraiser here — and will again until life feels stable for him. In the fundraiser there are some specifics about his situation — essentially he had an accident in his studio where he lost some fingers and the use of one hand for the moment. As a person, this would be hard... as an artist, I can't imagine. It's one of my fears. Al has viewed it as another creative challenge, for "not making" is not an option. He's adapted tools and adjusted his studio to see what's possible with this new development. He is meeting it head on.
And yet he can't quite work at the level he was working before. Income as an artist can be unstable and unpredictable as a healthy artist. Everything shifts as time is needed for healing, and yet the money demands do not subside.
Al is an amazing person. He has so many interesting stories from his past, and he continues to live a vibrant life, in the now. He shifts conversations to what's possible, and he lives in alignment with his heart and soul. He is a renaissance man, always adapting to and working with what is from a place of inspired possibility. Let's rise and support that spirit while also finding that within ourselves.
That's what I want to support and ask for your help in doing so as well. Al is not able to return to his side jobs that provided a consistent income. He does have an array of art available, including metal-crafted leaves, Rune pendants and other talismanic jewelry, blacksmithed and forged athames and daggers, time portals, art journals and various art pieces at Cult of Gemini in Grass Valley, California and at Osborn Woods Gallery in Nevada City as well as directly from his studio. These galleries are giving all sales to Al , so purchases go directly to him. Buying Al's art is a great way to support Al.
You can also donate through GoFundMe to Al Martinez Helping Hand, a fundraiser we set up for rent and living expenses. Many of us are helping to raise money for Al. Our community — meaning us, this tribe of humans helping each other — has raised about 3 months of rent for Al, through donations large and small. Al's accident happened 2 months ago. I want Al to have the spaciousness and support to heal at his body's pace without fear of losing his studio. If $5 is what you can give, please do. It's all adding up to an amazing safety net and vote of confidence. You can donate more than once, so if you can offer $10 every paycheck, you can. If more works for you, it gets us closer to our goal of covering his rent for a year.
I'm stepping in to help build a safety net by asking you to support Al in his path of strength. He always lifts me up and empowers me creatively. I want to assure him that he can continue to create and heal in peace, beyond the pressure to sell and work and do if rest is what is called for. Al is doing great *and* he can use our support right now.
Curious about my connection with Al? Here's what I wrote on Facebook a couple days after Al's accident:
Hello, dear ones! Al Martinez is leaving the hospital today, and I'm helping to raise money for his home/studio rent. How can I express what Al means to me? I met him through the Curious Forge maybe 7 or 8 years ago. Al and the Curious Forge as a whole changed how I feel about men and the world of making.
Al always believes any idea is possible. He's so empowering. He's helped me improve tiny jewelry riveting and construct 10' tall gothic mushroom lights. Not to mention the giant 8' tall Grimm Halloween sculpture and the glittery moon bed straight off a 1920s dance number set (I sometimes get myself over my head with ideas -- Al is a genius at breaking them down step by step and problem solving as we go along to prevent overwhelm).
He's made mermaids, ships, ocean waves, a rock staircase, a howling wolf, a sorcerer's book, a gothic raven house, a glowing tree, a hand-carved sign and many other delights for the windows at Cult of Gemini. His creativity knows no bounds, and neither does his spirit. He's taught me a lot about freedom and not compromising your heart.
My hope is that we can rally together to provide support for his rent to alleviate that worry. My goal is to raise enough for a whole year, because as Al would say, not just anything is possible but everything is possible. Please share!
