Take a trip down memory lane and visit our pages from past years.
HEMINGHoliday
2023
Welcome to our annual site where our attempts at holiday perfection (totally overrated btw), usually fail miserably.
Note from the author: The theme of this year's site is "Pixel or Paper?" Take our anonymous survey and help us determine if we should do away with our old-school, snail-mail holiday cards and embrace the digital age instead.
Folks, the fate of our cards
rests in YOUR HANDS!
HEMINGHappenings
—
Whaddup?
So friends, what will it be?
Holiday Cards, Website, or Both?
Your input might prevent us from accidentally faxing holiday wishes to everyone next year.
HEMINGOuttakes
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When you ask your family to send a nice photo of themselves for the holiday website, and they respond by unleashing a barrage of photos that scream "family dysfunction" louder than any therapy session could.
PAINTINGSHuh?
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Unwrapping the connections behind this year's theme
First of all, I applaud you for scrolling this far down the page. I haven't lost you yet! As for the link, stay with me here. I reside in the UAE 10 months out of the year, but due to card-sending logistics, I prep the cards in Bethesda during the summer — 5 months ahead of Christmas — exhausted sigh.
Facing a creative block for card ideas this year — nothing says Christmas like Maryland in July — I opted to ignore the chore and paint winter scenes instead. Utilizing torn pages from old books added a unique texture to the canvases I was working on. This sparked a profound thought: What's the true worth of holiday cards? Environmentally, we're contributing to the crisis, yet there's potential for joy upon receiving a card in the mail. I'm genuinely curious as to where you stand on the subject.
Now, if you're raising an eyebrow at the fact that I deconstructed books, let me assure you that the books I sacrificed weren't exactly treasures.
Take, these 2 for example:
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A squirrel/bug-chomped copy of "Beowulf." Who liked Beowulf anyway?
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A university textbook from a dreadful art history class that made me seriously question my life choices.
So there you have it—a glimpse into the unconventional materials and musings behind the theme of this year's holiday card and website —obscure as they might be.
PEACE, HARMONY, & LOVE
Or, as we say in Abu Dhabi,
As-Salamu Alaykum
Caroline, Brad, Grace, Catherine, and GT Heming