I had a piece hanging on the wall at the ever-stylish Gneiss Climbing Gym on Banks Road for a couple years, and the painting was just sold. It's like the end of an era.
I had it listed as for sale, but then took it off my list because in a way, it felt like it belonged at Gneiss, it fit the space so well. Gneiss (pronounced "nice") (a type of rock), isn't just a gym to me, it's a community– the people who come there to climb (and sip fresh espresso, aka liquid courage, or "sending coffee",) have the chance to sit between climbs and converse, unlike a regular gym.
Climbing is all about problem solving; on boulders, the routes are literally called "problems". At a gym where people want to get fit with intention, want to challenge themselves mentally and physically, get creative, use their unique strengths, challenge themselves to strengthen their weaker spots, and put their heads together to figure out how to make it up a wall, I think people wind up solving more problems than planned.
The piece was sold to a climbing couple who have had their loving eye on it since it was first hung on the wall. They are the embodiment of what this painting means to me.
Gneiss Climbing is a loving hub of "if you want it, you gotta GET IT", which makes me question more and more– what is it that I reach out for on a day-to-day basis? What am I working toward, and subsequently, achieving? I've found that gratitude has been the most profoundly fulfilling base of any of what I've considered to be an "achievement" in my life as of late, and so, some words about this piece:
Thank you, Gratitude, for being the vehicle of abundance.
Through joy, and now-ness, giving, calm:
A collection of Thanks.
A hallway of artifacts, moments where time was forgotten.
Your face, watching fireworks, and mine, watching you.
The Gratitude Museum.
Puff up your chest to the mirror and say it with me loud: Thank you.
I am wonderful and I am ready for more, for all of it.
A new piece of mine now hangs in that same spot, which is a dream come true- for me to continue hanging art in a place that it is appreciated every single day. (I'm not crying, you are.)
Gneiss Climbing is a nice gym for nice people. I highly, HIGHLY encourage you to check it out and try your hand (and fingers) at rock climbing. The staff, and your fellow climbers of all levels, will be there to cheer you on.
And you can give them thanks.
- Ang