Confessions of a Decorator

I finally figured a way to avoid the frustrations of my weekly visits to Brokeback Manor, don’t go weekly. If I go every two weeks, the progress, or lack of, won’t seem quite as bad. Last week the glass was supposed to be delivered, odds are it didn’t arrive so my chances are better if I wait another week. Expecting to see it installed might be a little too much to ask, so instead I’ll just hope it arrives. To lower one’s expectations is the key to lowering one’s frustration. Sounds like there might be a self-help book in there somewhere!

Architect Joan said I was whining too much and I should shut up about the house and the windows and the glass, etc. So having gone to Art Basel Miami last week, I’ll talk about art instead. Since I don’t get the chance to spend much time in galleries, Art Basel offers the ultimate opportunity to see art—lots and lots of art—from the very expensive to the most affordable. Walking through this venue, looking at so much art, I must confess that I view it through an interior designer’s perspective. It’s one thing to experience art in the rarified atmosphere of a museum, but, at Art Basel, the sheer quantity and tradeshow-like ambience encourages me to view the pieces as objects of decoration, something to be hung on a wall or displayed in a room. I find myself shopping or looking as if I were in an antique show. This is not to denigrate the artwork; in fact, I find the experience more enjoyable. This is my third time at the show and I will go again next year. Art connoisseur or decorator, it’s a great time.

Okay, I have made my confession; it’s out in the open and I feel much better. I will probably never be invited to another art opening. May all my art-collecting friends and clients forgive me. I’m not such a bad person.