No Greetings
By Q’shaundra James
Greeting cards are a beautiful means in which to send positivity to loved ones. The need to send friends and family our best regards is not a contemporary practice. This tradition goes back as far as ancient China and early Egypt. Despite this old custom, greeting cards have yet to evolve. Considering the range and complexities of emotions, every sentiment would not be positive. For this reason, I decided to take a new approach and expand the capabilities of the greeting card.
During this pandemic, globally, we are facing turbulent times. Many people have lost jobs, loved ones, and a sense of certainty for the future. Naturally, we gravitate towards the reliability of greeting cards in order to send our deepest sympathies and condolences. While some suffer through the hardships of the epidemic, others continue to contribute to the crisis. Unwilling to miss a years’ worth of events, socializers gather. Adamant about taking full advantage of breaks, partiers constantly host events. Both groups continuously ignore the guidelines of health officials. The inconvenience of wearing a mask is a constant complaint amongst this bunch. They also protest that their spring break, summer vacation, and holiday seasons were ruined. During the midst of so much tragedy, sacrificing social events should be the last concern. Due to negligence of habitual gatherers and partiers, the spread of the virus continues to spike. Empathetic greeting cards aren’t hard to find, but apathetic themes are non-existent. This is unfortunate since all sentiments are valid. Regardless, if it’s positive or not, all emotions are entitled to be expressed through a delicately decorated cardstock. If your loved one is a socializer or gatherer; look no further, I have the perfect satirical card for you.
Art/Q’shaundra James.
Q’shaundra James was born in Las Vegas, Nevada. She earned bachelor’s degrees in English and Fine Art at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her work has been exhibited at the Donna Beam Gallery, Untitled Space Gallery in NYC, Palo Verde Art Center in California, and Main Street Arts in NY. One of her paintings, Wait Till She Looks Up, is a part of the Student Union’s permanent art collection. Recently, Q’shaundra participated in the Las Vegas Rouge Project, creating a mural of Dorothy Dandridge. She was also an apprentice in Italy for a local artist, Federico Paris. During undergrad, she received the Kenneth M. & Mary Alice Devos Art Scholarship and the Outstanding BFA award. Q’shaundra won first place in Donna Beam’s annual juried show three years in a row.
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