Earlier this week, I popped into Partner’s Hall in Huntsville just to check on my solo art show Windows on the World and, fingers crossed, to see if, just maybe, there was another sale.
When I slipped into the exhibition hall, there was an elderly couple on the far side of room, carefully examining my large oil painting of Rooftops in St. John’s, NFLD. As all the lighting is turned on the paintings, it’s hard to see anything or anyone else clearly. The two silhouettes were deep in a low-voiced discussion that I longed to overhear, but couldn’t. I banged around self-consciously at the display table that holds my business cards and bio, trying to look important.
It worked. The couple stopped talking, and said hello, then remarked that I looked like someone who was in charge of the show. Perfect! “Well, actually, (I hesitated modestly for a second to increase the drama), I am the artist. “
The effect it produced was very heady stuff: much praise, many compliments, lots of superlatives. “Where are you from?” they enquired. “Dorset,” I replied. “Do you know Dorset?” Yes, they had visited Dorset several years ago. “There was a wonderful wood-fired pizzeria on highway #35 that we went to. Is it still there?” “Yes!”, I answered, “In fact (dramatic pause again), I own that pizzeria.”
The leap from professional painter to owner of a pizza joint was too big a stretch to believe. I could see it in their eyes. Had I lied to them about being the artist or about owning a pizzeria, or maybe both? While they were sizing me up, I launched in to defend my outrageous claims. “No, really, I do own Pizza on Earth and run it with my children in the summer. It’s just a seasonal business. I paint the rest of the year. ” Of course, I added many more details to authenticate myself as both.
That, too, worked and they promised to come to Dorset in the summer to visit the pizzeria. Or, was it a gallery? It’s both – your one-stop shopping! Food for your soul and food for your body. Is it really that strange a connection?
Elizabeth Johnson 
Food for the body and food for the soul! I admire your hard work and your optimism that nourishment is what we need. We do! Keep going Sis!