Artists Against AIDS

 

On Monday evening, I sat in a large room in the old YMCA near downtown Champaign, sticking price tags on the handmade cards I was donating to the annual fundraiser for the Greater Community Aids Project, Artists Against AIDS.  

My part was nearly done. I had sat at the table in my studio, a table covered with my collection of used paper, tubes of paint, and jars of brushes.  All kinds of material are fair game when I make my cards: chocolate wrappers, used postage stamps, old maps, bits of yarn. My hands and eyes had delighted in the textures and the colors.  

I used to sell my handmade cards at a downtown art gallery until it closed in 2006.  On Monday evening, I was reminded of the old ritual of packaging the cards to send them out into the world.  Not knowing who buys them, not knowing whether they are mailed or framed or just tucked in a drawer is somehow pleasant. 

I am grateful to the AIDS Project for this opportunity it offers artists every year.  And grateful for all the work it does for people with AIDS in our area.  If you are in or near Champaign-Urbana, please stop by between Thursday and Sunday to enjoy a feast for the senses.