Oddmall 2024: A heartwarming story
This weekend I was at selling at Oddmall, a huge vendor event hosted at the fairgrounds. After last year’s success, I was starting to feel quite disappointed with the results of this weekend - I was in so much pain, hardly selling anything and I barely broke even with supply costs.
At a typical market or fair I usually get quite a few “I like this” or “love your work” and even some people commenting on how touching it is.
But what really means a lot to me, is the people I meet who really feel my artwork. The people who it touches. The people who share their stories with me.
Saturday evening I was approached by a mom and her daughter. The daughter (probably tween/early teen?) came up to me and said “I want you to know you’re not alone in some of the things you deal with, I really understand your paintings”. Moments like this are what I look forward to while selling. Seeing that my art isn’t meaningless, it makes a difference. I thought that was the end of our interaction…
To my pleasant surprise she returned Sunday and started talking with me again. She quite shyly handed me a set of earrings, a drawing, and a small ziplock of change. Her mom told me that when they got home last night she read my bio and saw my gofundme for medical costs. She wanted to help, and scoured the house for whatever she could find to help with my medical costs. She created a beautiful and heartfelt drawing for me and came all the way back the next day to give them to me.
Today, this little girl, with her drawing, her ziplock of hard-searched 82 cents, and her big heart made the whole weekend worth it. All of the pain, the medical episodes, the stress and the lack of financial success don’t matter, what matters is that someone felt less alone because of my work. It always means a lot to me when people are touched by my art, but this interaction brought tears to my eyes. I was that girl once, who was living with something that it seemed no one understood. Sick. Invisible and unseen.
She said I made her feel seen, but little did she know that she made me feel seen too. That conversation has been replaying in my mind ever since she left. Her drawing will now be hung above my desk and never forgotten.
Juniper, if you’re reading this, thank you for being brave enough to talk to me. You’re a beautiful and thoughtful person. I may not know what you go through, but I know you’re incredibly strong. Don’t ever give up or lose hope. (Also, contact me, I have something I’d like to give you)
- Giusiana
