Visual Art and the Common Calendar

It's that time of year to support artistry, sustainability, and being organized

Dec 14, 2024

“Anchored Up”—A view of the river over rivets on a bridge. Photo by author © Dawn Nelson.

Author’s Note: A sign of the times—I feel compelled to clarify that I discuss art created by humans. In my opinion, art without the living process of creation and interpretation loses meaning. Art, Life & Ecology will always center art created by human beings and nature.

Art as Lifestyle

Why do we create art?

What does it do for us? We are searching for something, but what?

In between the colors, contours, and textures, it is meaning and symbolism we seek—something provocative and life affirming.

There are many forms of visual art: photography, painting, drawing, digital imagery, collage, mixed media; the list goes on. Some works are straightforward: they are aesthetically pleasing to the viewer. Some are more complex or even vulgar, and as such are intended to evoke a range of emotion and reflection. Strolling through a museum gazing at works of art can be something of an erratic journey.

I adore visual art because it makes me think differently in mere seconds. It is like a good run in the forest for my mind, without a map.

Only wilderness.

It changes you.

Whenever I feel the need to refresh how I think, I visit a museum or gallery.

As I study a piece, my eyes search for clues to the process and method of its creation.

I want to know the secrets. The moments that brought the work of art into existence.

Long ago, my high school art teacher encouraged me to develop my hand at portrait art. After some classmates stole my sketchbook, and a few other life mishaps, I lost heart and did not pursue portrait art as doggedly as I should have. Now my visual art drifts to landscape photography and at times, painting. Landscape portraits, I suppose.

I especially appreciate photography for each opportunity it brings to decide precisely what to capture. The picture you see, captured in the frame just so. The contemporary challenge is to frame the shot when you take it—not rely on cropping it later. To me, this keeps the art in the act of artistry. To be in the moment.

Thus provokes the mind.

“Storm Fields” — One of those aesthetically pleasing visual art pieces. Photo by author © Dawn Nelson.

Sustainability for the Holidays

On the more practical side of things, and as an advocate for sustainability (and someone who literally saves pennies), I think carefully about my consumer behavior.

Essentially, I buy less and shop local.

An important goal for sustainability is the practice of buying only what you need so as to reduce material consumption. The idea is to carefully consider what is most essential and take responsibility for the entire life cycle of an item. If you ask yourself where something will eventually end up (landfill, etc.), you might hesitate to take on more than necessary.

But what about what you need? In my world, I consolidate as well as I can.

For example, every year I allow myself a simple indulgence: a wall calendar. Sometimes from places I have visited, with photos of beautiful landmarks and landscapes. It is a simple and affordable way to bring more visual art into my life. I particularly enjoy calendars published by photographers and nature organizations.

I often find artists selling calendars and other wares at the farmer’s market in town. I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that if you have the means to buy original artwork directly from an artist, please do! It is a great way to support artists.

If you want more visual art in your organized environs, here are a few suggestions:

Nature and environment non-profit groups often have calendars to help with fundraising and environmental awareness. For example, the Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge calendar includes a photo collection from different photographers featuring Lake Erie wetlands, wildlife and landscapes (they do a calendar every year with the winners of a photo contest).
Photographers often have a calendar for sale. For instance, check out an amazing photo collection featuring Lake Superior at More or Less About the Photo.
The Slingshot Collective’s annual planner is very useful and compact with art embedded throughout every page.
See what local artists in your area have to offer.
Create your own.

Every so often I think about putting together my own calendar, but I’ve not yet done so. One of the fun things about putting together a calendar is that you can acknowledge any and all holidays or special days you desire. This can include birthdays, anniversaries, moon cycles, international days, local events; the list is endless. You can also use your own photos. In short, you can personalize it.

It’s a thoughtful gift, and a pragmatic one. Conscious calendaring checks a number of boxes: supporting artists, purchasing a necessity, and thoughtful gift giving.

It is an endearing serendipity that the season of gift giving is also the season of a new year. That’s how I arrived at writing about art, sustainability, and calendars, in case you were wondering. It’s the coincidental mashup of holidays.

Penny pincher that I am, I’ve learned that some artistic calendars can be expensive. If you need something economical, gifting yourself a new calendar might be a courtesy of the local hardware store. I have found it to be a pleasant way to find new art while supporting a local business.

Getting into the weeds of things as I do, a final consideration is whether an item will be easy to recycle at the end of its intended purpose. I checked with my local recycling facility to see how they handle calendars. Calendars generally fall under mixed paper recycling. As long as I am mindful whether there is plastic coating on the paper, and remove any spiral binding, it is good to go. If not, sometimes companies accept out-of-date planners or calendars for recycling.

While I seem to be obsessed with time accounting, these principles of sustainability apply to any material item. If you are curious about mapping the local to the global, check out the United Nation’s sustainable development goal on responsible consumerism.

I can hear the critics now: “Recycling is a farce! It all goes into a landfill anyway!” to which I reply—if that is what you believe, then don’t buy it. Where there are logistical snafus with recycling, then as a society, we need to fix those problems as well. At least we can get the sorting part down.

We can innovate from there.

It’s time to get organized.

Create some art.

Enjoy your holidays, and remember that joyful memories last a lifetime.

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