Thrift shop treasure from “Women of Africa.”
Thrift shops rock and top my list of pleasures for the treasures they contain. And here’s the latest reason why: this awesome print now hanging next to the table in the dining nook. My husband and I often go thrifting together and have great fun with this “sport”! Whereas you can’t find it in the dictionary yet, but the word “thrifting” is definitely part of my verb vocabulary.
Bill had picked up this poster, as he called it, to tack up in his shop and had toss it on the musty dusty work bench when I spotted it… rather, rescued it. I used to scoff whenever he zoned in on those little “art” sections. I used to laugh. No more.
The joke seems to be on me because — Google to the rescue — this piece, one of several from the collection called Women in Africa, is a print of a watercolor titled “Air Lointain” by French artist Mireille Turcot. Well la-ti-da. I’m feeling pretty uptown now and wrote straight away to the artist, leaving out the part about finding her piece at a thrift store. Whereas it’s a funny story, the artist herself might not appreciate the irony of it all.
I’m still laughing at the cost: 50 cents from our local ARC thrift shop. 50 cents, people! (Framing it, of course, is another story.) The colors, the flow, the subject, and the setting now pull me in every day as I savor my morning grapefruit. Something new on the wall always gives a lift to the day and having fun at the beach — with music no less — what better lift is there.
Three cheers for thrift shops, and thanks to whoever discarded this. Your junk is now my treasure, and if I knew who you were, I’d invite you to tea… or a glass of wine.
The permanent donation box in the office just became more important than ever. A lifetime of accumulation is still being edited around here so there’s more stuff on the way. This give and take seems like recyling at it’s finest.
Weeded out this week: 7 more items in the donation box: a shirt that always feels too tight in the armpits, a pair of jeans that feel too tight “elsewhere”, the book I just finished reading, a kitchen gadget that’s too hard to clean, and 3 towels I really don’t need. Feeling lighter.