(art by Regina Boyce)

Last night I had a fascinating discussion with attendees of a community conversation organized by Art On Purpose, a local arts organization.

The group had held art workshops at several library branches exploring themes from Edgar Allan Poe’s work, including love and loss, madness and obsession, and fear and terror.

Several Baltimore residents created pieces addressing fear about the economy, and so for last night’s talk at the Waverly branch library, we dug deeper into what money provides and what folks were doing differently in the face of economic uncertainty.

We talked about priorities, and I offered up my frugal philosophy for life: how money gives us choices, whether it’s the kind of food we eat, the place we live and the health care we can enjoy. It’s better to start saving early, because you can’t take a loan for retirement.

Several attendees talked about the struggle to budget, how jarring it can be to suddenly become aware of how little money remains after addressing fixed expenses such as rent and utilities.

Another guest spoke about blowing up fixed expenses such as utilities altogether and going entirely without gas and electricity for most of last summer.

An experiment like that would certainly make you appreciate the simpler things. Another guest shared a story about a group of pre-teen girls who put aside their fancy video cell phones for more than hour to play with an old-fashioned deck of cards.

What are you doing differently because of the recession/economy, whether it's finding more economical entertainment, or cutting back on extras and rethinking eessentials?

You can see more art from the Art On Purpose workshops at other branch libraries this month as well as at the Baltimore Museum of Art this fall. The events are free and open to the public.