It's a Crying Shame... No, not that the Spiders have been busy spinning Spidey-webs all over the House while I've been mired in my deep Funk ... *LOL*... I can roll with that since their gossamer Creations are quite Lovely and Ethereal... and Princess T likes to Decorate them. Or that all my Coasters and Table tops in the Livingroom now have mysterious sticky substances all over them that I can only Guess at the Source of?!? *Smiles* But something far more grievous to my Artist's Heart. You see, today to try to get myself out of the doldrums I decided to go Goodwill Hunting and see what turned up? And I completely forgot in my Haze of Sorrows, that Today was the big 50% Off Sale!
And that my Friends usually equates to some Shoppers and their out of control Kids acting as though they have lost their minds and all semblance of Civility, sanity and care!!! So I usually avoid 50% off Day like the plague because it's simply tragic to Witness the carnage of the Inventory. Yeah, I know, it's a Thrift Shop, and the Inventory are Donations... but it does fund the Ministry Work and Charitable Organizations it's been Generously Gifted to for Sale... so there's no excuse to mistreat the Merchandise and Jack things up, damaging some beyond repair or possibility of sale.
And it was a Crying Shame when I came across some Lovely Artistic Creations by the same Artist that must have Donated them all because the Work was distinctive... delicate Assemblage Art in the form of Eggs that opened to reveal tiny Scenes and were exquisitely decorated with Vintage Bling and Trims. A lot of Work and Imagination had obviously gone into the Creation of each and I would have bought them all... except...
That someone had Jacked them all up and every single one was broken and destroyed... all but one beyond any Hope of repair!!! *Shudder and a Sigh* Instead of carefully opening the Eggs to Reveal the Lovely Interior Scenes, someone had simply broken off the hinged doors and pulled apart, snapped off, torn or damaged many of the Ornate Details inside and out!!!
The vandalized Eggs were in shambles and so many pieces were missing, broken or strewn about that I doubted any but this one could be Salvaged and Restored? Yes, it was a Crying Shame and grievous to my Artist's Heart because I would have Loved to have given a new Appreciative Home to the entire Collection and perhaps even offered some up in my Booth for Re-Sale because they were all Exquisite... or had been before the Egg Monster(s) had ravaged them!
I Imagined the Time the Artist spent Lovingly Creating each piece... and Generously offering them as a Donation so that the Charity could benefit from the proceeds of the Collection. I'm glad they didn't see what became of their Art and Donation... because if it Grieved me I could only Imagine how they might Feel about the tragic and senseless carnage!? The total lack of Respect for what belongs to someone else and isn't even theirs to manhandle and destroy?!? If they buy it and then allow complete and utter destruction of it then at least that is within their Legal right, even if I can't wrap my mind around Why they would? But if it is for Sale and their intention is not to purchase it... don't Jack it up so that nobody will want it and it's a total Loss!!! I'm of the Camp of : "If you or your Kid break it you just bought it..." because perhaps a hit in the wallet will give someone careless and indifferent a fresh revelation of not acting like a Bull in a china shop in public or keeping their Wild Kids in check?!? *Smiles*
And since the ENTIRE Collection was vandalized... and there were numerous Creations on different shelves throughout the Shop... I seriously doubted that it was Accidental in nature, but rather Intentional? Since each one was broken or damaged the exact same way. So one would assume either someone was exceedingly stupid or heavy-handed and kept doing the same dumb thing over and over with each piece... or allowed someone who didn't know any better to... or was simply Destructive on Purpose? It made me Sad and Mad at the same time.
But the Bright Spot was that I did Save this one Beautiful Creation and should be able to Repair the Damage to the one broken hinge. And the few missing or damaged Details aren't so obvious that it detracts from how Special this Piece is. I fell in Love with it and for only $1.49 it was an unbelievable Bargain and 'Score'. And I Hope for those other Creations perhaps someone had the Skills, Supplies and Vision to either Restore or Salvage them so that they're not a total Loss after all? The Destruction of Beauty is just one of my Personal pet peeves that really gets under my skin and makes me more than a bit Emotional. So... what is one of YOUR pet peeves that you consider a Crying Shame my Friends?
Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian