Each year when I was young, my grandma Leta would come by the house at Christmastime dressed as Santa, there to deliver the biggest box of chocolates my tiny eyes had ever seen.
It was pure magic, if you asked me, and it was one of the things that made the holidays so special. (And yes, I still love chocolate.)
It was that memory I had in mind as I painted and designed our Christmas card this year, that dons a Santa on the front and a message that flowed from inside of me right onto the page:
“Believe in goodness, in magic, and in the power of love.”
After a fairly heavy November in the world, I turned my calendar to December with an extra sparkle in my heart.
I woke up to fresh snow on the ground and the lights of our Christmas tree and decorations twinkling throughout the house, and found myself steeped in gratitude for the angels; the “Santas”; the special people who’ve touched me so deeply throughout this year.
From traveling to the Plein Air Convention in the Great Smoky Mountains to meet, paint, and learn alongside artists I admire and aspire to be like, to painting with my bare feet on the ground during Art in the Open in Ireland and feeling the spirits of my ancestors…
I know the experiences I’ve been blessed with this year have given me the strength to keep moving forward through thick and thin (or, in painters’ terms, fat over lean 🙃).
I’ve participated in and been accepted into shows throughout the Finger Lakes — including the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls — and as far as Laguna Beach, California, and continue to teach what I’ve learned and experienced to others, paying it forward in homage to the teachers I’ve had.
Perhaps most of all, I get to be Grandma CiCi to three incredible grandchildren who fill my heart and art on a daily basis, and I get to do what my grandma did for me, all year long: Make sure they experience magic.
Who knows what the next week, month, or year brings, but stopping today to witness, acknowledge, and appreciate all the good that’s happened makes me certain that not only is there still so much good in this world…
The best is yet to come.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m excited for it.
Happy holidays. Be safe and continue to spread your light. There’s someone out there who’s day will be brighter because of it.
P.S. While our hours of light continue getting shorter, I’d love for one of my paintings to bring brightness, warmth, and love into your home. 🌙
From now until the end of 2024, use the code HEAL in my shop to redeem 50% off any of my paintings.
I’ve had the incredible honor of re-homing many of my pieces over the last few weeks since this sale started, and my heart could not be more full.
If you truly cannot afford a painting but still want to spread light and healing to someone in your life, please email me at cindy@harrisstudios.com and we'll make it happen.
My only ask is this: After you've gifted your art, please send me a note sharing the story of who you gifted it to and the impact it's had. 💛