Adventures! part 1

Last week, I ventured outside my comfort zone. I visited two new places in parts of town mostly unfamiliar to me.

I am a creature of habit and somewhat shy. I generally buy things new from stores I know that are near me and part of a chain. I don't know why. I just always have. It's not wrong - it's worked well for me, but now that I'm older I'm making a point to try new things. You know, just to be sure I'm not missing out on anything.

And my adventure paid off! I got new supplies at Muse Art & Design on Hawthorne, and then visited The ReBuilding Center on Mississippi. I will talk about Muse in this post, and save The Rebuilding Center for next time. I had no problems finding Muse thanks to Lena (my car/GPS). I had to parallel park, and I'm sure the lady watching from in her car across the street got some good laughs. It went back up, go forward, correct, back up, overcorrect, hit the curb, go forward, back up, check alignment, try again, hit the curb again, etc. Then she saw me spend about five minutes trying to figure out why the damn car wouldn't lock (the passenger door was open).

I was beet red by the time I walked in the door, so I avoided eye contact and hid behind a paintbrush display. I slowly emerged, and after staring blankly at unfamiliar brand names, I asked a friendly woman named Nicole for help. The appeal of the store is that every employee is an artist and therefore knows the tools on a practical level. I stammered out my need for a brush recommendation. I felt like a little kid, and said so. I have a lot of talent but little to no knowledge. Most of my art supplies were gifts or bought as a starter/student set at Craft Warehouse or Michael's. I have no idea about quality, brand names, ingredients, etc.

Nicole cringed a bit when I admitted to thinning my acrylics with water, and recommended I buy something called GAC 100, a thinner specifically for acrylic. She recommended a paint brand for when I run out of my current stuff. She took a look at my current brushes and helped me choose new ones. We talked about what to paint on, paper or canvas or board, and what does "gessoed" mean? She encouraged me not to be embarrassed to ask questions - everyone starts somewhere and we are our own worst critics. I had fully intended to be more "out there" and ask tons of questions and talk about her art as well as mine and ask about the shop's history and if there were any workshops I could join... But I was still feeling overwhelmed and shy. And there is always next time, right? Because I will go back - my first experience at a "grown up" art store was very good.

Sylvia, another friendly face, rang me up and further set me at ease about venturing outside of my comfort zone. We talked about colored pencil brands - I needed to replace four colors from my Prismacolor set and could only find two. That sparked a discussion about how Prismacolor's quality has declined over the years, so they are carrying more stock in a different, better brand.

The shop itself was smallish, but I have only large chain craft stores to compare it to. The big front windows let in a lot of light, and everything was well-marked and easy to find. It was quiet despite being on a main street. The atmosphere felt... familiar and intellectual, if that makes any sense.

Outside, a woman in a long skirt with a serene disposition had parked in front of my car. She was standing on the hood of her hybrid SUV, calmly picking leaves from an overhanging tree. She smiled and said hello, as if nothing was unusual. Well, I guess there wasn't - this IS Portland, after all. What she was going to do with the leaves? Some of them she put in her messenger bag, some she had arranged on the hood of the car. I could have asked, but I think in this case I'm happier just wondering.

I started up Lena and entered the next address. "Route guidance will start once you reach the highlighted route," she said. It was a good start.