Does Buddha Belong In The Market Place?

Buddha's Bedtime Story - Original Brush Painting On Vintage Book Page - Matte Size 8x8

Image Size 3 3/4"x 4 1/2" - $25 CDN - free shipping

I have a confession to make.  You have arrived just  in time to catch me with my hand in the cookie jar.  Don't worry no goods, services or more importantly beings,  have been harmed in my foray into banditry.  I am swiping an idea from a fellow artist.  Would it sound better if I said I was borrowing an idea?  Would you find it more palatable if I reminded you that imitation is the highest form of flattery?

Randall Plowman of the "Collage A Day " sells a collage on his blog most days (as do a number of other sites).  And I have decided in an effort to challenge myself and shake things up a bit to give it a try.  I wrote 100 days of Dharma.  Now I think I will post 30 days of art.  Partly its because I see how beneficial it is to do something repeatedly.  Partly it is because the sluggish side of me needs some reason, some serious encouragement to apply some discipline.  It's so easy to let the days slip by with all kinds of good reasons why studio work hasn't happened.  Sloth and Torpor, my good friends, invite me out to tea.  My mother's business details have kept me busy.  There's the garden calling for attention.  The sunshine beckons for long walks.  But the truth is there is still time to get a little studio work done everyday.  And the benefit of exercising that muscle is immeasurable.  It builds skill and takes us places we didn't know we were going.

So here I am cookie crumbs and chocolate chip smears on my chin posting the first piece of art for sale.  And that's not the all of it.   I wrestled with the commercial aspect of selling each piece here.  For me it adds a slightly different twist.   I did post a piece of art with each writing for a 100 days so I needed a little variation.  And in truth the economics of a $25 original are kind of an interesting idea.  It makes original art affordable for more people and contributes to my my own right livlihood.  But how does that fit in with the Dharma?  Is it a bit crass to post something for sale in the same place I write about the Dharma?   Are the Dharma and money and commerce mutually exclusive?  Must they be separate?  Where do we draw the line?  I am exploring all of this.  So maybe I am eating cookies in the nude now?   

So  I must say this is an experiment, one that makes me wriggle a little but then what is life for, if not to provide a little wriggle material for ourselves.  I'm on the hook now, I might as well wriggle!  It reminds me of the Bruce Springsteen song (courtesy of my daughter) I was listening to on my ipod the other day.  The song is "Dancing In the Dark" and I thought to myself, isn't that what we're doing here a lot of the time.  It seems so descriptive of this human dimension somehow.  Springsteen also reminds us that "we can't start a fire without a spark" and that (my personal favourite) "you can't start a fire worrying about your little world falling apart.".  So here I am out on the dance floor.  Care to join me?