My gift to you
Today while wrapping a new pair of earrings I decided to listen to an interview with Larry Harvey about the gift giving culture at Burningman. During the holiday season I thought a lot about gifts for many reasons, 1) because I was filling so many jewelry orders that were to be gifts, 2) I was buying and giving very few presents myself, and 3) I wasn't expecting to receive any presents this holiday season (nor did I feel the need for any).
You will notice two different terms above... "gift" and "present." After the holiday season I felt I had received many, many gifts, although only 1 physical present to unwrap. I live in a tiny place and spent a good portion of the last year selling "stuff," of which I still have more that can move along. My favorite gift of all is spending time with good friends... conversation, cooking, drinks, hikes... all sorts of things that create meaningful connections. This isn't to say I don't have a wonderful collection of art that reminds me of dear friends and such, it's just that I don't need things willy nilly.
The internal conflict that I've had over the last year or so with many of my friends facing economic distress and I myself making a commitment to simplify and reduce spending is that I rely on being part of commerce. I need to sell the things I make. This isn't to say I'm not open to trades and bartering... that system works well for me if both parties are happy with the deal... yet my rent cannot be paid in jewelry each month (although I have bartered it for propane!).
Listening to the interview helped me to change my thinking, or, rather, to rediscover thoughts I've had before yet had lost touch with. I'm not just selling "stuff." Art adds to and enriches people's lives in often unknown ways. Wearable art is something a little special because it can create an intimate interaction between two people. When a customer shares with me that her jewelry garners so many compliments and has ultimately become a conversation starter, that makes her happy and in turn makes me happy so the cycle can continue.
The positive interactions and connections hopefully start with me or a representative in a store or gallery. The jewelry itself is just the seed. Don't be shy about engaging with people out in the world who comment. In our society we are almost trained to avoid connections through automated voice messaging, efficient coffee ordering, atms, buying and shipping online, or walking around with an ipod on to avoid people all together. What I'm striving to learn more from Burningman is that we are all contributors to our community, and our gifts can be many-fold and needn't be mere trinkets or presents. Kind words, time, attentiveness, and non-memorized interactions might be just the thing that a person needs and you're able to give (or receive).