I looked, the tears came and I was comforted. By then, I had heard from a few readers who, through the magic of memoir, had read themselves into my book. I was deeply grateful. The crowds that my giant-tiny ego had dreamt of had shrunk down to a small intimate group of readers who felt like new friends—and there they were in a circle, standing in the art right in front of me
Probably one of us felt more certain that buying art was a good idea, and nudged the other one forward. And then there would have been a shot of pleasure at making a married-couple-purchase that was not mixing bowls or winter tires or milk and eggs, but instead something made by hand and so pleasingly composed and rendered, joyful with color and meaning. Valuable just for being beautiful
Lauren Winner writes about this very thing in an essay called “The Art Patron: Someone who Can’t Draw a Straight Line Tries to Defend her Art-Buying Habit” in For the Beauty of the Church, a collection of pieces edited by W. David O. Taylor, a pastor and author who has done so much to further the conversation about art(s) in the Church
