Branch Out

After my rant on Monday about Black Friday and my suggestion we make art instead of buy cheap crap on sale, I started doing some major brainstorming. What I’ve come up with is an idea that incorporates gratitude, family, and a seriously cool art installation.

The idea was inspired by something I saw a few weeks ago while attending Salt Lake City’s Gallery Stroll. It was a traveling art exhibit, installed in the back of a moving van. Inside the van was an enormous ball of string (we’re talking maybe 4 feet in diameter?) and hanging at various levels from the top of the van were tiny tags with things hand-written on them. On closer inspection, the tags said things like, “make a can telephone” and “tie around my finger to remember stuff.” Oh, I get it. People must have been asked to write on these tags what they would do with a piece of string. Then, the artist hung up the tags at varying heights, and voila; art.

Yesterday I had some friends over, and instead of asking them what they would do with a piece of string, I asked them to write on these cool shipping tags things they were grateful for. You know, getting us all in the Thanksgiving spirit. Then, since we had quite the snowstorm and several broken branches lying around (waste not, want not) I found a branch I thought was extra interesting and tied on the tags. You could use any sort of tag, or even just strips of paper. Gather as many tags as you can, by listing just one item per tag. You could then hang them from a branch like this, or the ceiling or light fixtures at different levels. Or, hang them on your Christmas tree as ornaments and let thankfulness infuse your entire holiday season. I’m heading to my hometown for Thanksgiving, where I will bring some tags to let my family add to the tree. Every year we go around the table and say what we are grateful for, so this year I’ll ask everyone to write them down, too! I’m excited to watch my Thanksgiving Tree "branch out!"

Now, surely, you could do something like this on Friday instead of buy stuff you don't need to impress people you don't like, couldn't you?