Art is More than Art

I just received a wonderful email from a customer who came through my booth several months ago at Portland Saturday Market

He sent me a photo of a painting his daughter made for her mother for Christmas.

I remember him.

He came into my art booth alone telling me he was looking for something to take back home to his 12y old daughter in California. He and his wife were on a weekend getaway. She was elsewhere shopping in the market.

I looked around my booth to see which artwork I thought might be best for an adolescent girl. I spied it right away.

How about this one?

"Yes, she likes fairies. That's perfect."

Pleased that I just sold an original with little effort I began to wrap up the artwork for him. It is titled, I am My Bliss...I thought to myself what a great message for a 12y to see. I hoped she would like the art and display it in her room to see everyday. To begin to discover at such a young age that we are the bliss we make our lives out to be is a liberating truth.

I made small talk with the man who had a warm presence. I asked about his wife, if she was enjoying her time in Portland.

He suddenly became emotional. He began to hold back tears that were unholdable.

"I'm sorry... we just found out her breast cancer came back..."

With that admission his tears freely flowed.

I opened my arms to him and he fell in for the comfort of my hug. I felt that with him so deep. Cancer has marked so many of us.

He composed himself and stood back into his own. I felt inspired and went with it.

"May I give this to you as a gift for your wife?" I asked. I picked up a print of my Beautiful Scars art to show him.

"The original was picked up by someone who had just come through breast cancer. May I gift this to your wife?"

He had a new wave of emotion, but no tears. He told me that it was Beautiful Scars that caught his eye in the first place to come into my art booth, but he determined to stay on mission to find something for his daughter so he didn't pay any more attention to it.

"Thank you, thank you so much," he said.

That was I don't even know how many months ago Then yesterday I get an email from him asking if I remember him. He says his wife and daughter both loved their art. And then he sends me a photo of a fairy painting his daughter made her mom for Christmas and of course I beamed for she made it in likeness to I Am My Bliss.

And it just feels so good. So warm and gooey and yummy and good to have been a blessing like this to this family.