Art Beat: tis the season

It’s that time of year again. Whether you love it, hate it, or simply don’t care, the holiday season is in full effect.

There are many creative people who find inspiration during this time period. It seems there are some capable of extracting the very essence of the Christmas, Chanukah, and other holidays and pouring into their work.

Even those who don’t make art for a living find creative ways to show their friends and loved ones how much they mean to them. It can be a hand painted mug glazed at a local studio. It could be a poem preserved in a frame or custom card. It could be coming up with a unique gift basket catered to the recipients every trait and interest in mind.

Life is unpredictable and people often have to come up with creative solutions to fill their holiday shopping lists, especially with factors like the pandemic to consider.

Below is a collection of holiday quotes to help stir up creative juices and warm, fuzzy feelings while reflecting on the true reason for the season.

“Some Christmas tree ornaments do more than glitter and glow, they represent a gift of love given a long time ago.”

— Tom Baker

“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.”

— Burton Hills

“Freshly cut Christmas trees smelling of stars and snow and pine resin—inhale deeply and fill your soul with wintry night.”

— John J. Geddes

“Christmas magic is silent. You don’t hear it — you feel it. You know it. You believe it.”

— Kevin Alan Milne

“Santa Claus is anyone who loves another and seeks to make them happy; who gives himself by thought or word or deed in every gift that he bestows.”

— Edwin Osgood Grover

“Christmas waves a magic wand over the world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.”

— Norma Vincent Peale

“At Christmas, all roads lead home.”

— Marjorie Holmes

“The smells of Christmas are the smells of childhood.”

— Richard Paul Evans

“I wish we could put up some of the Christmas spirit in jars and open a jar of it every month.”

— Harlan Miller

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com