When customers bring pieces into Nepenthe Gallery to have them framed, we often look at the wall filled with a vast selection of frame corners and specialty mats and say “…we have to start somewhere…” and the process begins. And so it is with an “ART BLOG!” We have to start somewhere and we will, in a classically artistic way, start where the story ends—connection. Welcome to ART to ART.
Every week we see visitors, friends, customers and collectors who make connections through art. It is so damn good to see and be a part of that and actually interact and interface with each other as opposed to doing those things with our phones, ipads, and computers. And those connections call us to be better and to regulate our responses and word choices and facial expressions. Nepenthe Gallery provides our team and our visitors a place to be real and in that way it is a sacred place at all times. Come visit and connect with us or art or framing (it sounds so funny!) or each other and you will give yourself and your nervous system a gift.
Recently a young couple brought in a jersey to frame. They were surprised that our colleague was familiar with the team since it was a minor league hockey team from Small Town, USA and our colleague knew about it from a connection she had with a close friend who grew up there. Honestly there are not too many young couples (under 30) who spend hundreds of dollars on custom framing, so our colleague was delighted to work with them and shared with them that they reminded her of one of her own daughters and her daughter’s boyfriend. They worked together to design a framed jersey for the ages! It is going to be spectacular and worth the investment!
And then the project goes from the colorful, upbeat and dynamic design space to the data-driven, precise and no-gray-area universe of our framing workshop! Two worlds collide and within that toil always comes forth a beautiful result and we all know that nothing worth a shit comes easy! This cool jersey from a random place that our young clients and our seasoned colleague all had a connection to was now in the hands of our framer who told us we had not considered the weight and the glass would have to replaced with acrylic which is more expensive. (he loves doing this to us!) I happened to be listening to our colleague call the client to report on the added cost and honestly I felt like I was overhearing a loving aunt confirm with her niece’s boyfriend what time they were arriving for their upcoming weekend visit together in New York City! Does that connection matter much beyond assuring the framed jersey looks amazing on our young clients’ wall? OF COURSE IT DOES! I was a passive participant and it unwittingly put me in a better mood which means I was MUCH friendlier to my mother when I spoke with her later that afternoon…..ART to ART is for real. Get to Nepenthe Gallery as quickly as you can!
