The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, recognized as “Giving Tuesday,” is a response from the philanthropic community to the heavily commercialized Black Friday and Cyber Monday, when many people in the U.S. race through their holiday gift shopping. Giving Tuesday campaigns urge would-be shoppers to spend their money in the form of donations to their favorite charitable causes.

This year, the Harrison Center chose to adapt the day to Forgiving Tuesday. Just as the publicly recognized day is meant to inspire generosity, when looking for a way to connect with and inspire our community, forgiveness arose as a cause that we all need to invest in. 2020 has brought many things, including division and isolation. Forgiveness is the antidote, the gift that frees the giver.
In early discussions of planning for the day, we partnered with Harrison Center artists to explore the theme. Carolyn Springer’s The Forgiving Sea is a large-scale oil painting, the third in a project series, that invites its audience into the process of active forgiveness. On Forgiving Tuesday, Springer asked people to write the name of someone they needed to forgive on the painting with an oil pastel. People could also participate virtually, by submitting a name that HC staff would write on the piece for them. The process can be an emotional one that Springer believes a powerful part of the catharsis as the individual exercises intentional forgiveness.

A name being added to Carolyne Springer’s The Forgiving Sea.

After many names are written on the painting, Springer washes over them with another layer of oil paint, adding another wave of depth to the oceanscape of the piece. She intends it to be a continually evolving piece that will live on at the Harrison Center.

Lorie Lee Andrews, another Harrison Center studio artist, utilized printmaking to translate forgiveness into a unique and tangible gift. Using plexiglass etchings, she created three different styles of prints: “I forgive you!” “I’m so sorry” and “I forgive and set myself free.”

A print made via etching on plexiglass, by Lorie Lee Andrews.

People could request one of the prints for free and watch Andrews create them live on Instagram. She hopes they will be sent as gifts or kept as reminders of living with a forgiving posture and committing to the process of forgiveness.

Andrews in her studio, creating prints for Forgiving Tuesday.

The Harrison Center decided to start small this year, with a socially-distant and virtual Forgiving Tuesday event. The hope is to make it an annual event, while inspiring a daily practice of embracing forgiveness.

“One of the most important lessons we have learned this year is that forgiveness is powerful, and we hope our unique twist on the Giving Tuesday movement will promote healing and peace.” —Joanna Taft

It’s Better to Forgive than to Receive