YEARS AGO, I PURCHASED a large glass and brass table to use as a desk. It quickly became my very own personal island, the place where I could work, think and dream, my refuge from the world. The antique dealer who sold me the table offered traditional desks, but I was attracted to the size of the glass table. I also appreciated the way its surface reflected light and that it didn't take up as much visual space as a large traditional wooden desk with drawers. In addition to our ten-hour-a-day working relationship, the glass desk and I formed a close personal relationship. That table is where I placed my head after being told my mother had died.
One beautiful Saturday afternoon, while sitting and dreaming beside my glass companion, I decided to open an art gallery in the Paseo Arts District in Oklahoma City. The table, happy to change careers with me, was the first piece of furniture in my new office at JRB Art at The Elms. For more than twenty years now it has provided the perfect sanctuary and space for me to read and research, review artists' submissions, schedule and organize exhibitions, write press releases, communicate with artists and patrons, and read and prepare documents for the various boards on which I serve.
About a year ago, again sitting with my venerable glass companion and allowing myself to dream, I decided to start a weekly blog organized around the general topic of “Living With Art.” Once again, my desk embraced my new idea and willingly became the nexus of that activity. It's wonderful to have this luminous refuge I can see and touch, that encourages me to work, think, and dream.