SURREY — ’Tis the day before Christmas. All ready for the big event. Thousands of Surrey families will have a happy holiday thanks to the efforts of the Surrey Christmas Bureau and Surrey Food Bank. Thank you to everyone in the community who helped out with all the donations. It makes a difference.
Family time is the best gift for me. We all have such busy schedules and Christmas is definitely a time to abandon every other activity and be together. The moments are golden, and wrapped in love and sharing. And we have never been ‘well off’ but have always had everything we need – maybe not everything we want, but everything we need.
Tricky thing, knowing what you need. Not being hungry, having adequate clothing and shelter are basics. If I could make a Christmas wish and have it come true, that is what I would wish for most of all – that we all have the basics. Then we can have the freedom to find inspiration for our life’s work. Be creative. Fulfill a passion for dancing or music. Be a visual artist. If that is your passion, follow it.
Local artist Wendy Mould (PICTURED) is not only an artist, but an instructor, presenter. And very active member of the Fraser Valley arts scene. She is truly inspirational. She suggests that for this gift-giving season, buy art. Oh sure, by now you have probably bought all the presents you need. But did you remember to treat yourself? Did you get cash for Christmas? Think about investing in original art.
Mould had a great piece in December’s “Spotlight,” the Arts Council of Surrey’s monthly publication. “When buying art from an artist/maker,” she writes, “you’re buying more than just an object/painting. You are buying hundreds of hours of failures and experimentation. You are buying days, weeks and months of frustration and moments of pure joy. You aren’t just buying a thing.”
So you don’t need to use Christmas as an excuse to buy art. Spend these holidays with family and friends if you can. There is no such thing as “quality” time. The moments and hours tick by, quality or not. Mould says you can buy time by purchasing a work of art from a local artist. Her philosophy is that when you do buy art, “you’re buying the artist more time to do something they are passionate about.”
(COLUMN CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO)
Families can be just as tricky to understand as knowing what you need in life. Surrey Arts Centre next month presents “In a Blue Moon,” the second play in the Arts Club on Tour series. It runs from Jan. 13 to 23.
“In a Blue Moon” is a tale about creating a new life in a new landscape. When Ava (Anita Wittenberg) and her daughter, Frankie (Emma Tow), move to an inherited cottage near Kamloops, they discover that Ava’s late husband’s brother (Brett Christopher) is already living there. What starts as a tense relationship develops in unexpected ways as Frankie finds a role model in her uncle and Ava grows attached to the companionship of this other man. Through memories and photographs, a tender love story unfolds among the three as they begin to thread together a new understanding of family.
Christmas. Find the time to spend with family. Buy art, whether it is something to hang on your walls or a ticket to a live performance. May you all have a most rewarding and happy holiday season.
