Galleries - December 2014

8 GALLERIES CHRISTMAS little piece of art to everyone? Recently there has been a huge resurgence in letterpress printing, and now it is easy to find hand-made greeting cards online or through specialist galleries that have an authentic artistry about them. So even when sending cards, you can give the specialgift of art. Now let’s move on to the main event: the present list. I have a Canadian sister-in-law who treats Christmas gift buying with military precision. She actually uses a very complicated spreadsheet system and while this certainly works for her and it may work for you too, I’m not entirely convinced that this is the best method. Personally, this clinically efficient approach to gifting leaves me a little bit cold because it takes all the festive joy out of Christmas shopping and makes it a burdensome chore, which it really shouldn’t be. Another present trap is feeling one has to buy multiple gifts for everyone – most people would prefer quality to quantity. And here is where the gift of art comes into its own, because everyone loves something that has been wrought by hand rather than mass-produced by machine. So armed with your list of recipients, why not go and visit some galleries – either physically or online – and have a Around this time of year, as the evenings get progressively darker and the mornings ever more frosty, so the coming of Yuletide becomes increasingly apparent. Yet often in the maelstrom of Santa-fest commercialism, which each year seems to start earlier, we often forget that Christmas is a time of giving. Giving from the heart to people we care about and love. So rather than doing a mad rush of excessive gift buying in the weeks running up to Christmas or even worse on Christmas Eve, why not pace yourself over the next little while and take time and thought to buy each and every person on your list something really special. This doesn’t mean blowing the budget on expensive gadgetry or luxury fripperies but rather putting care and effort into making your present buying decisions the right ones. And on Christmas morning the recipient will not only have a nice surprise when opening their present, but will also realise that you care enough about them to have put some realthought into their gift. One of the best ways to do this is by giving the gift of art. But let’s back up a bit; when sending out your Christmas cards this year why not instead of opting for generic robins, snowmen and Santas, give a Lee Kang-hyo, Teapot, Puncheong at Goldmark Gallery www.goldmarkarts.com Kathryn O'Kell ‘Crested Tit’ carved & painted lime plaque, 9 x 7 x 2.5 cm at Twenty Twenty Gallery The Gift of Art ‘. . . each piece carries with it the soul of the person who lovingly created it, and it is this that makes the gift of art so truly special.’