(Summer Memories by Barbara Hudler Cella)
I’ve always found enjoyment in my creativity. Coloring as a young child, art lessons K-12, art classes in college and beyond – these all supported my skill and fascination with what I could create. Moving forward to sharing my art has also had a profound impact.
When selling my art at first, it was easy for me to slip into thinking of my art as “widgets” to sell, and I would forget about (or didn’t know) what happened when my art is purchased. I was measuring my success by how many sales I had, sort of like a form of approval, until… I started getting specific feedback. It took me a bit to really “hear” what they were saying, and not just think that they were simply being nice.
I’ll share a few stories that enlightened me. I’ll start with a local nurse who received one of my Deschutes River cards from her son. She loved it because it transported her to the river, its sounds and smells, how she felt being there. She placed it on her route out the door to head to work. Knowing that her day ahead would be stressful, the image calmed her, reminding her what joy the river brings her. Soon, her family purchased the painting, knowing how much the imagery meant to her.
Another instance was magical. Within minutes of hanging an older painting in a gallery, a woman purchased it. A snowy forest scene with a couple standing by a roaring fire, it made her heart sing. She shared that her husband had taken her on a winter forest adventure early in their dating, and started a fire to warm by. The next year, they did the same thing, only he proposed. Now married, she wanted to give her husband the painting because their memories were so meaningful. Not long after purchasing the painting, her husband mentioned a return visit before Christmas. She gave it to him there, in the snow, sitting around the warm fire. How fortuitous that my hanging of the painting and her visit spontaneously collided.
I created a montage painting of summer activities exuding the energy of nature, especially summer at the lake. A woman briskly walking by stopped and was transfixed. When she got home following her trip to Bend, she called and purchased the painting. She shared that her husband was very ill and she was the main caretaker. Her trip to Bend with her daughters had been a special treat as was the painting which kept the trip going in her mind and heart. It provided sanctuary and a reminder of carefree summers of the past.
I share these stories to remind myself and others that art can fulfill us, move us, pull on our heartstrings, remind us of the past, present and possibilities. It can provide an oasis from the storm, inspire an adventure, or who knows what. With this in mind, I have a new way of thinking about my art and sales – knowing that my art has made a positive difference for people, and hopefully, just maybe, can do so in the future.
Time to get painting!
Barbara Cella’s work can be seen at Hood Avenue Art in Sisters and numerous shows in Bend.