Perceptions #48

REFRIGERATOR ART

Author Unknown

Christmas time is coming and this year I want nothing for myself. All I want for Christmas this year is for my dear refrigerator to receive a piece of refrigerator art. Since the baby has grown up and moved out, our old Frigidaire has become a lifeless, boxy and generally bland appliance again. She misses her colorful past. She misses being the focal point of so much family delight. Where once she stood proudly at the center of our home, a grand display of some of the most unique and creative art treasures this side of the Guggenheim. Now, the silent sentinel shudders in the corner of the kitchen that once was a virtual furnace of artistic expression.

Her primary artist, whose work was once exclusively displayed on that enameled kiosk, was a relative unknown (or at least a relative) of the gallery owners. But prejudice was not the only reason this artist was displayed. The work had a childlike naturalness to it. Free from convention, this young talent revealed no fear of painting purple skies over yellow seas. Proportions, head and hands particularly, were of no concern. It was art for arts sake! That is why it was displayed. That and the fact it was often spontaneously posted by the artist herself.

Today the old ice-maker still stands in its original position. Cold cuts and sodas still huddle inside her intemperate walls. Most would say that she is still doing her job well. But they didn't see her in her heyday as we did. She once thrived as the center of the art world! Or, at least our art world. Now she stands unadorned, the hollowed shell of her past glory.

Don't forget to think about your refrigerator this holiday. Share your creativity and love with the greatest appliance you've ever known. It won't be long before her artistic days will end. Speaking as an expert, the refrigerators of America will thank you.

"God makes a home for the lonely..." Psalm 68:6

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