The Way Appears

We never know where one decision will take us. And that one decision rarely impacts us in just one way.

One of those decisions I made has impacted me in countless ways, and the ripple effects continue to this day.

I had only a vague sense of how opening a studio in Murray Hill Galleries to sell my photography would impact my life.

It began with a single decision from an unexpected place: being in the building for an appointment that had nothing to do with art or photography. Yet that is all that was on my mind when I left, after wandering around and looking in various galleries, thinking, I would love to have a space here. And then, just a few days later, trying to squeeze through the doorway of what I was told could be a small studio/gallery, I was eventually satisfied with just getting my head in for a glance at the jam-packed storage room while trying to envision showing and hopefully selling my photography there. The building manager turned to look at me, surprised to hear me say, I think it could work — so surprised he couldn’t help but respond, Really? Are you sure?

My mind was barely involved in the decision to start a business and sign a one-year lease. I made the decision based on intuition and a strong desire to try.

Since opening 18 months ago, it’s been a series of decisions, one after another, all from a place of the unknown. Flying blind most of the time, but having faith in my photography and trusting that it would resonate with others. The old build it, and they will come thing. Or the quote I think of most often from Rumi: As you start to walk on the way, the way appears. It has, and the people who come in help me to take the next step as I continue to find my way as a business owner and artist.

And speaking of people, so many came in over the weekend at the neighborhood summer Art Walk! They came in, they looked, they questioned, they listened to the stories behind the photographs, they left with them, or ordered others. Some stayed to chat, and others returned because something I created (!) spoke to them so strongly they couldn’t ignore it. They came back to buy it, and the result is that now dozens of my photographs are in people’s homes, offices, or are being given as gifts.

And the conversations! People showed me their own photography, asking what I thought, and I told them what I liked, what I thought they did well, and what they could try next. When one person showed me about ten photos and then asked, Do you think I’m ready for a camera? My reply was yes! Then the conversation moved on to cameras and the wisdom of buying used.

One of my favorite conversations was with a woman who had photographed big-name rock bands in the 1970s. She wants (needs) to do something with those hundreds of photographs, so I encouraged her to get a table at the next Art Walk, and she’s going to. Think of the stories in those photos! And who knows? Maybe saying yes to a table at the next Art Walk will become one of those decisions whose impact can’t be seen yet. I certainly didn’t see where my own first visit to this building would lead.

What about you? What decision could you be avoiding or be unsure about that could be a doorway?

We are all hungry for connection and to see the good and the beauty in the world. That’s what was alive in my small corner of a building full of art makers and enthusiasts. It was like I was plugged into a battery pack all weekend. The energy was palpable in that space, especially on Sunday.

My heart is full. The energy of the weekend still fuels me. All of it reminds me that creative pursuits connect us, that art unites us, and that it is an essential counterweight to the world we now find ourselves in.