Confession Time

I confess, I have never worked in an art gallery prior to buying one. Not only had I never worked in an art gallery, I had only taken two art classes in my life. What in the world was I doing?


I had one traumatizing semester in high school where I struggled from pencil to brush to paper and back again. I was much more comfortable with math and English where I understood the rules and knew that my GPA wasn't in jeopardy. As long as you followed the syntax, you could define the outcome. I felt like I could control my destiny, as in get good grades, get good scholarship, get good job, work like a dog, die. Putting a brush in my untrained hand was too risky. How could I let myself go and enjoy the experience when I couldn't predict the destination? What if I failed? What if art ruined my life?


Then came college and I was again required to take the dreaded art credit before they would let me graduate and tackle the real world, become a success and get where I was going. "Art 1000- General Studio Art: This is an Art Appreciation course designed for students with little or no art experience. If you feel timid about taking an art class, then this is the class for you. This hands on class will explore a variety of art creating materials and approaches while descussing historical and contemporary art movements and artists. " Okay, I could handle that. I mean, if they knew we were timid about art, they wouldn't expect us to try and create it would they? Surely it would be like show and tell: this is a paint brush, this is a bigger brush, this is paint. They'd probably have a $100 textbook where we would be required to read about artists and major art movements. Yes, I could do this. However, the professor felt that the best way to vanquish timidity was to just jump right in. Textbook: $145 required, but don't read it and no written tests. Art supplies: stock up because you don't know what you're doing and you'll probably waste a lot and forget your social life because art is life and the sooner you embrace it, the less scared you'll be.


Don't get me wrong- I enjoy art. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is go to art museums and galleries. I just don't want to create it. Heaven forbid I mess up. I know art is subjective but what if I fail? I have a secret fantasy that I'm actually painting and if I could just summon up the courage to let myself go and stop worrying about the results, enjoy the process, forget about the destination; I am a brilliant artist. For now, I own an art gallery and so far it hasn't messed up my life!