Recently, I uprooted my life in Dallas, packed all my belongings into a large - a very, very large truck and moved to my hometown of Russellville, Arkansas. I haven't lived in Russellville for over 20 years. Many things are different here now, but many things, the good things, are the same. People who know you, who know who your people are and say things like "I jist luuvv yure mama". People who don't know you talk to you in the grocery store while you're both trying to find that one item right in front of your face. And it's also pretty town, a quiet town, located on a lake and the Arkansas River and surrounded by hills; natural beauty abounds. The pace is slower in a way that allows one to be more present if he dares. Plus, I get to ride my bike to work! Traffic is de minimus. There is no Central Expressway or Tollway to wear you down even before you leave the house; there is no waiting for hours in a traffic jam. AND there are trees - lots of trees. I had forgotten somehow what it's like to be surrounded by trees. At night you can hear all the real night noises, not traffic rushing or planes taking off, but real, honest night sounds - tree frogs singing, night birds calling, cicadas creating their strange and wonderful music. All of it is truly, a wonder. As much as I did and do love Dallas, this is my home. My roots are here. My people are here, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to be removed from the hurried and harried life I had come to know living in a city where I was, for the most part, anonymous. I am happy to be home. I am happy to be close to my family again. It is good.
So what am I doing here? I am managing The Frame Shop & Gallery, a local institution some might say, which has been in business for 33 years. I am trying it on for size in order to determine if it is a fit and to find out if I want to own it and run for the next 33 years. On my resume, you will find no custom framing, retail or art/gallery experience. None. Not even an art appreciation class from college. Aside from the fact that I have had many items framed, I like art and "arty" stuff, I am a complete and utter novice! I am learning everthing from the ground up. While that is somewhat daunting, it is also fun and exciting. I go to frame school in November. (Actually it is called "boot camp" and is run by a man who refers to himself as the Guerilla Framer. Gotta love that! I think surely wearing a doo rag will be a requirement). In the mean time, the owner of The Frame Shop & Gallery is teaching me what she knows.
Since this is all new to me, and I have been looking for an outlet to write, and I have been advised I should have a blog related to the shop, I thought I would try to document the learning process and so why not do that in a blog? Of course, I'll let you know when we have new art, get some awesome mouldings, run a special etc, and I plan to post some artist interviews, but mostly this will be a blog dealing with, for now at least, my foray into the wild and whacky world of custom framing! And so now, we're off!
