Work by Annette Koehnen
Ye who hesitates is lost
Hesitation is a good thing. It stops us from taking rash decisions, gives us time, if sometimes only a split second, to consider our options. Act or step away. Jump or sit down. Say something or not.
However, if all we do is gaze and graze, never expressing a preference, we are in danger of living our lives as passengers. Watching everyone else find joy and consolation while we look on.
Earn to spend, learn to spend
Our world has accepted a capitalist system, for want of a better one, that we need to participate in for it to work. So, a time to buy will arrive sooner or later. That doesn’t mean we should or need to over-consume. There are many ways to spend your hard-earned cash that are fulfilling. One of them is to commission a piece of work by an artist or artisan.
You may well hesitate at the idea. It is far easier just to do what everyone else does. In our world, factories make things and advertisers tell us why we want them. You can already see the thing and what it does for you. Splendid.
Awkward commissions
When you commission a piece, there is a lot of trust involved and it is a scary business. What if it is not what you had expected, the maker didn’t understand you or it doesn’t fulfil your wishes? That could be awkward. Who is looking for that?
There was a time when everything was made to order. Your boots, your mattress, your plate, the shirt on your back. People weren’t worried about commissioning. It was the only way and as ordinary as we find factory-made things today. Simpler times or smarter times? Is this what we have lost? You had what you needed, no more, no less and when it no longer fitted or broke, you ordered a new one. When a new need arose, you went looking for someone to create the solution. And guess what…without hesitation.