The title. It’s the tagline I have on my Instagram bio as well (@therivagallery).

I was going to write a whole article explaining why I make the kind of art I do, why it’s always painted on everyday objects. I was going to explain what it means to me, how I think about it, how it fits into my life. And I actually did, I do have the article written up in my notes app. But it just felt…wrong. Because creating means more to me than I have the words to logically explain. I think the only way to express it is through something more open-ended and interpretive as art itself. So here’s my stab at that (disclaimer…I’ve literally never written a single poem in my life).

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art meant to be lived with
by riva

i’ll never make art for galleries.
i make it for jacket sleeves,
for grocery runs,
for late-night conversations
with chipped mugs and messy floors.

i paint phone wallets
so my friends think of me
when they tap their cards
at their favorite stores.

i paint shoes that get scuffed,
because you wore your favorite pair daily,
bags that carry too much,
things that move through the world
much like people do…
soft around the edges,
loved anyway.

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i get asked why i don’t sell what i make.
but how do you sell joy?
how do you sell that tiny sparkle
in someone’s eyes
when they see something made
just for them?

art is the one thing
i never want to turn into work.
i can paint for hours,
lose whole afternoons,
and end up with nothing to hang,
nothing to post,
nothing that lasts.
and that’s okay.

it’s the doing that feeds me.
not the product.
not the praise.

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maybe that’s why
museums feel strange.
so quiet,
so still.
i don’t like staring at art
trapped in a frame.
i want to wear it.
hold it.
give it away.

i make things that aren’t precious,
but they are personal.

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i want my art to crack,
to crease like people do.
to fade just enough
to show it’s been loved,
to carry the weight of stories
it gathers from the hands that hold it close.

because this isn’t about perfection.
it’s about presence.
about creating something
because it brings you peace,
or joy,
or even just a second of silence
in a loud world.

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so no,
i don’t sell my art.
but i’ll keep giving it
to the people i love
and to myself.

because this is art
meant to be lived with.
and i want to live
with as much color as i can.