I could condemn this tradition but I cannot help it, buying things feels soooooo good. Instead I want to propose a simple redirection.  How about we all forgo the lines at Target, Wal-Mart, and Best Buy.  Let us bypass Tom’s shoes and Etsy (All your friends already have humming bird feeder bike helmets, trust me.) And what if, just what if, we blow off Heifer International and NPR like we do the other eleven months of the year.

What if this year we all bought art.

If you are reading this you are probably an artist or know a bunch of artists. (or your my father)  This month, call one of them up and score, a print, a drawing, a painting, a design, a whatever.  Lets face it, you are going to spend $40 this holiday season why not put it in the pocket of a local artist who is doing jive work?  If you are an artist, I know that you have pieces that are just taking up room in your studio.  Why not sell that it at the buddy price and get it out into the world makin’ someone happy.  You always liked your friend’s sketches? He always liked your collages?  Now is also the time to trade up. If you are not in the know you still have options.  Gallery and artist websites are a good place to start.  Rebekah Templeton even has an online market with editions priced to sell and ready to buy straight from your computer.

In a fervent anti-capital period we can forget that not all economies are bad.  Buying, selling, and trading local art is a responsible way to strengthen the tissue of a creative community. Do you know who was the biggest collector of Picasso’s at one time? Georges Braque.  Do you know who was the biggest collector of Braque’s at one time? Pablo Picasso. *

Let's do this.

*I don’t think this is true.  But we can change the wiki page later.